


Of Knights and Wizards

by Dark_rune



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:20:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 79,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27143734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dark_rune/pseuds/Dark_rune
Summary: Dean is a knight and Castiel is a wizard.  A tourney brings them together and they set out on a quest together.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 20
Kudos: 41





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just an idea that I've had kicking around for a little while. Hope it'll be a fun little romp. I have an end point in mind, but I'm not entirely sure what they'll get up to along the way.

The sun was warm on his face as Dean rode out of the forest. The advice the woodcutter and his wife gave him had proven helpful in getting him and Baby through safely. One of his tutors had always insisted that advice obtained during a quest must be followed to the letter. While Dean didn’t think going to a tourney was a quest, especially since he’d given it to himself, not following a humble woodcutter’s advice while traveling through a forest was a good way to end up enchanted. Or at least lost. There were rules to these sorts of things and it was usually best to follow them.

The forest line ended abruptly at a field of grass. The flat land was a contrast to the thick trees Dean had spent the last two days traveling through. The sun on his face was a pleasant change from the dim light that filtered through the trees. It had been a dark few days and he was looking forward to leaving the forest behind.

A well used road was visible nearby and Baby quickly found the path that led down to it. She had been in an irritable mood this morning and he let her pick the route. Dean suspected she didn’t care for the slow pace they’d had to take the last few days. She always preferred moving quickly and got snappish when she was forced to stay at a slow walk. Baby loved running and Dean usually indulged her. He had met few horses that could match her speed or her stamina. She could run all day without tiring, even while carrying him in full armour. His armour was tucked away right now and he wore a simple green tunic.

The road was worn smooth through frequent travel, but Dean didn’t see anybody. This surprised him, and if he was being honest, disappointed him a bit too. He had been traveling alone for weeks and looked forward to the opportunity to talk with someone. The likely topic of conversation would have been the tourney, but he would have taken anything. Even a discussion about the weather would have been welcome.

Since no one was available for conversation, Dean decided to just enjoy the day. Baby was setting a brisk pace and he was sure they would reach the tourney grounds by midafternoon. The countryside was a pleasant change after so many days in the forest. The forest had been nice enough, but it had been dim during the day and near pitch black at night. Dean had only lit one fire the entire time. He’d quickly put it out, he had the distinct feeling the trees did not approve. Instead he and Baby had pushed themselves a little harder to get out from under the trees as quickly as possible.

The rolling fields on either side of the road slid by as Baby ate up the miles. She seemed in great spirits by the time Dean reigned her in at the top of a hill. Part of him wished it was closer to evening so that the sun would be at his back and he would strike quite the figure at the top of the hill. But the sun hung solidly overhead just beginning its journey passed midday. 

The road stretched downward into a valley and led right to the high walls that surrounded the town. At the centre of the town was a castle with several high towers. Dean thought it looked like it had been lifted right off a tapestry. The fields next to the walls had been cleared and set up for the tourney itself. From the top of the hill he couldn’t make out a lot of details, but could see the flattened field that would be used for jousting and another area that looked like it had been prepared for the archery contest. Tents of all kinds had sprung up around the various event locations to form a sort of temporary town. Several tents looked like they would house the vendors that would sell food and drink. Some of the other tents would probably operate as inns for the various travellers. He hoped one of them was cheap enough for his purse.

The familiar sense of excitement was building in his stomach as Baby moved down the hill. It had been a long time since Dean had attended a tourney. The last one had been over a decade before. He remembered loving them as a child. The air of excitement that hung over them as knights in shining armour engaged in mock combat for the entertainment of lords and ladies. How even the humblest person could gain notice if they were skilled enough. At the last tourney Dean remembered a young peasant taking the top prize in the archery contest. Dean’s father told him later that because of his skill the young man had been asked to join the guard. A ribbon, some prize money and a better life for his family. Not a bad outcome for a man that had entered the contest a peasant.

Dean didn’t want ribbons though. Or even the prize money. He held no delusions about his skills. He was good, but not top prize good. He was a solid jouster and quite handy with a sword, but that alone wouldn’t be enough to win. And he didn’t really want to win. It would be nice, but what he needed to do was be noticed. He needed some lord or lady to notice him and decide that they wanted him to be their knight. If he could secure that position than Sammy would be okay.

Despite being ten years his junior, Sammy was smarter than Dean. Though, Dean would never admit that to his brother. Dean wasn’t stupid, but Sam? Sam could grasp and fully understand ideas in ways that Dean never could. By age seven he had already spoke three languages fluently, though his grammar was horrible. Something that Dean would point out whenever he could. Dean was comfortable in armour and knew that his life would likely lead him to war under whatever lord he followed. He had made his peace with that. But Sam? Sam needed to be in a library, surrounded by books and scrolls and being the one that advised that lord. Hopefully advised him well enough that people like Dean would come back from those battles. Time was starting to run out for Sam to become that advisor. He was twelve now and would need to take his education to the next level. For that they needed a patron. 

With a bit of effort, Dean pushed his thoughts aside as he and Baby entered into tent town. He dismounted and led her through the streets. He wanted to be noticed, but not as an arrogant peacock. Over the years Dean had met many pompous men and women who thought their birth and station made them better than others. He had never subscribed to that mentality, but had learned long ago not to express it. People of the same station or higher would, at best, look at him like he was a curiosity. Usually they would look down upon him and treat him accordingly. His views made those of lower stations just as uncomfortable. By the time he reached adulthood, he learned it was best to simply be polite to everyone, but not try to treat them all as equals, even if he felt that he wasn’t really that different from them. 

A few questions led him toward a tented inn that would serve his purposes. It was cheap which was his main requirement. Money was going to be tight if he couldn’t pull this tourney off. The inn was also reasonably clean, though he felt that was mostly due to it being so newly set up. It also had an adjacent tent that functioned as a stable. Dean had waved off the stable boy claiming that he preferred to care for Baby’s needs himself. It was a partial truth. He did prefer to care for his horse himself, but also didn’t want to spend the money.

Once Baby was settled into her temporary home and fed, Dean went to register himself. The clerk was a bored looking man in his middle years. The man took Dean’s information down along with the entrance fee. He was given a number as well as a time and place to appear at tomorrow. The tourney would open with the melee the following day and close with the jousting on the last day. The rules of the competitions were quickly listed off to him and the penalties for breaking any of them. After everything was explained the clerk dismissed him and Dean was free to wander the grounds.

******

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into coming,” Castiel grumbled.

“Would you prefer to be at home with mother?” Gabe asked. “Where you both could be getting on each other’s nerves?”

“No,” Castiel admitted. 

Gabe clapped him on the shoulder and laughed. “Then try to enjoy yourself little bro. It’s a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. There are more than a few pretty faces and I’m pretty sure I saw a place to get a drink later that also has a pretty face to serve it. There’s probably even someone trying to sell something you’d like. All sorts of people come to these things.”

Castiel sighed. “Don’t you have a princess to introduce me to?”

“Hey, watch the name dropping.” Gabe looked around quickly and muttered a few words under his breath. The sound of the bustling crowd around them faded. 

“Look, you can’t just go announcing that you’re going to meet the princess. That’s how people get killed. Or royals get killed. And certainly how wizards end up at the end of ropes.”

“I’ve known you my entire life Gabe and I’m not even sure I’m talking to the real you half the time. If they tried to hang you they’d end up trying to execute an angry badger. Your illusions are too good and you know it.”

Gabe smirked and adjusted his cloak. The grey fabric seemed to swirl as if it were made of dark smoke. It contrasted sharply with Castiel’s own pale tan coat. “I know I know. And I know you know that I know.”

“Then when do I meet her?” Castiel pressed. “I’d like to get this over with. We can meet, she can reject me and then I can go back home.”

“The only thing waiting for you back home is mother,” Gabe told him. “And as much as I love her, she will pester you until you submit to whatever position she’s found for you. Princess Charlene might be able to help you out. Actually, you might be able to help each other out.”

“What does that even mean?”

“This whole tourney is because she’s turning 20 and isn’t married yet. Her father got busy marrying the rest of the family off,” Gabe explained. “There might have been a war or two as well. Pretty sure trolls featured somehow too. Anyway, he got busy and the princess got older and remained unwed. She’s apparently flatly refused every suitor that her father has brought forward. I think he’s hoping the tourney will turn someone up that she’ll accept.”

“You promised a job Gabe,” Castiel growled. “Not a marriage opportunity.”

Gabe laughed. “Oh brother, I love you, but you and the princess would make a terrible match. It wouldn’t be fair to the children.” He wiped a fake tear from his eye. 

“No, this really is about you meeting her to see if she’ll accept you as court wizard. She doesn’t have a court yet, but having you as a potential advisor might get her father off her back for a bit. And it’ll definitely get mother off yours.”

Castiel frowned. “I don’t think mother would accept it. It’s not grand enough for her. Michael leads armies and wipes other armies from the map. Raphael has healed literally thousands of people of plague. Even HE can conjure up the dead and make demons dance.” 

“Don’t sell yourself short Cassie,” Gabe hugged him from the side. “You can do great things with your magic. And you know our brother has a name.”  
Castiel snorted and ignored the last part. “I’ve never managed to cast any of the advanced spells the tutors gave me to try. I’m not going to become the mover and shaker mother wants.”

“First, I don’t think either of us believe that nonsense,” Gabe started. He held up a hand when Castiel started to argue. “I’m not going to start that old argument again. You can pretend all you want, but I actually believe in you. So does mother. Which leads me to my second point. She pushes because she loves you. She grew up poor Cassie. Her magic attracted grandfather’s notice, and thankfully it was enough for her to overcome the prejudice of being low born. She doesn’t want any of her children to be poor and powerless. She just sees being the best wizards in the world as the way to do it.”

“I wish she’d stop,” Castiel muttered. “I’m not going to be a powerful wizard. I don’t have the potential for it.”

Gabe rolled his eyes. “Again, I don’t believe that, but I’m not going to fight about it right now. There are drinks to be had and skirts to chase.”

“I am not chasing women with you Gabriel,” Castiel said flatly. 

Gabe sighed dramatically. “I know. Not all of us can be fun to be around. You could chase that green tunic over there. He might be fun.”

Castiel didn’t even turn his head. “When do you introduce me to the princess?”

“You’ll meet her tomorrow during the melee. There’s a box set up for the royal family and we’ve been invited as guests.”

“Invited by who?”

“Officially the king, but it was Lady Gilda’s suggestion. She’s Princess Charlene’s lady in waiting. The king takes her suggestions seriously.”

“And how do you know this lady in waiting,” Castiel asked while squinting at his brother in suspicion.

“Well, I met her mother a few years back,” Gabe explained while pointedly looking at his nails. “And reconnected with her daughter a little while ago. She was the one who told me about the whole suitor thing. Suggested that if the princess had an advisor that her father might back off a bit and let this whole marriage thing sort itself out.”

Castiel didn’t say anything for a moment. “I think I’ll go back to my ‘room’.” He used finger quotes while describing the accommodations, which was basically a cornered off portion of a large tent. “I think I’ll read for awhile.”

“How are we even related?” Gabe complained. He didn’t push it any further though. He waved his hands and the sound of the crowd around them surged back as the spell dissolved. “You can go read. I will be having fun.”


	2. Chapter 2

The sun shone brightly down on the field. It was a warm day and promised to get warmer as the sun moved into the afternoon. Dean blinked a few times to clear the sweat from his eyes. Unfortunately, the man before him hadn’t vanished when his vision cleared.

Dean was on his fourth opponent of the day. He was starting to get tired and he was sure the other knight knew it. The first two opponents had gone down quickly. They had not been particularly skilled and Dean was happy he had been drilled on the basics so much growing up. If they had paid more attention to basic forms they might have lasted longer. The third guy had lasted longer. Not hugely skilled, but made up for it with endurance. It took Dean a full twenty minutes to wear him down before the other man had yielded. This fourth guy though? He was skilled, probably better than Dean, but what was more troubling was his patience. He had only struck out twice and both times had connected. Dean knew he was going to be bruised from the force of the blows. He had landed more blows, but none of them with the same force. 

“If you wish to yield,” the other knight said, “I will not hold it against you. You have fought well this day.”

Dean laughed under his breath. “Not giving up yet.”

The other man barked a laugh in response. “I am glad to hear it.” He raised his shield and saluted Dean with his sword.

The two men closed and began raining blows upon each other. Their shields mostly protected them, but the occasional strike slipped through. The crowd cheered around them. This was the longest match of the day so far and everyone was at the edge of their seats. Dean hoped a future patron might also be on the edge of their seat. He knew the royal box was occupied, though he wasn’t sure who was there. A lot of people only wanted to watch the jousts, so it the king might have offered the prime seats to someone else.

The match continued for another ten minutes before Dean’s fatigue fully caught up with him. He brought his shield up slightly too slow to deflect the blow entirely. Instead the force of it rattled up his arm and he felt the limb go numb with shock. The second blow clipped his helmet and he saw stars. He staggered backward a step before slipping to the ground. 

“I offer you to yield again Sir,” the other knight said.

Dean tried to regain his feet, but the world tilted alarmingly when he tried to do so. Instead he nodded slightly. He accepted the other man’s hand to stand. There was some cheering from the crowd, but Dean was pleased to hear a fair bit of booing. He had done well enough to have at least a few people hoping he’d win. 

“If this had not been your second match,” the other knight told him as he led Dean from the field. “I do not think I would have won. Let me take you to the healer’s tent.”

“It was my fourth,” Dean mumbled as he let himself be directed. The world kept tilting suddenly when he walked. He wanted to crawl off alone and lick his wounds, but he didn’t think his sense of balance was going to let that happen. 

“Truly?” The other knight sounded surprised. “Then I am lucky to have faced you so late in the day, I would not have stood a chance otherwise.”

“Yeah, well I still lost,” Dean said. He wasn’t really upset, he hadn’t thought he would have won the melee contest. He just didn’t really like to lose, but at least this man wasn’t gloating.

The other knight led Dean to the healer’s tent and only left him when he was sitting down inside with one of the sisters that staffed the tent coming over to see him.   
“I do not say this lightly Sir. It was an honour to spar with you.” The other knight bowed briefly. “And I would say the same if I had lost. May the gods never pit me against you on the field of battle.” He walked out of the tent and left Dean to the attention of the healer.

The sister that came over had the look of a woman who did not tolerate nonsense. Within moments she had Dean out of his armour and tunic. Dean had met squires that weren’t as efficient. The sister ran fingers along his arms and ribs checking for injuries beneath the bruising. She asked him several clipped questions while staring in his eyes and tapping the side of his head. 

“Your arm and ribs are bruised, but they’ll just sting for the rest of the day and then colour up. Might look like the sunset if you’re lucky.” She mixed an unpleasant smelling poultice and panted it along his arm and ribs. “This will help with the swelling.”

“what about my head?”

“It’s pretty enough and you’ll probably have a few bruises there too,” she told him. “The ringing will stop and you’ll be able to walk after that. For now, lay down here and I’ll get you some tea.”

Dean sighed and laid down on the cot. He knew he could fight the sister, but he’d lose. He’d met people like her before and he was in her domain right now. 

******

Castiel was bored. The melee combat was entertaining enough to watch at first, but it grew repetitive quickly. There was only so many times he could watch grown men smack each other with blunted swords. He kept glancing around the field hoping to find something that would keep him occupied until he could slip away for a bit. 

Princess Charlene whispered something to Lady Gilda and the pair of them giggled quietly. The princess pointed to something off to the side of the field and the pair of them laughed louder. An older woman that Castiel hadn’t caught the name of shushed them and the pair quieted down a bit. Both continued to giggle though.

His initial meeting with the princess had surprised Castiel. He had expected a spoil royal daughter and instead got a well-mannered young woman. Her pale gown contrasted with her bright red hair that was pulled back into a complicated braid. Her behaviour was everything Castiel had come to expect from nobility. Well, at least when older relatives were around. The moment her father had stepped away she made an off coloured joke that had made his ears burn and Gabe laugh loudly. She was the most unprincess-like princess he’d ever met. Though he hadn’t met that many princesses before. 

Gabe had done the introductions and had exaggerated his magical talents. When he tried to correct his brother the man had waved him off and explained to the princess and her lady that he was merely being shy. Castiel had the distinct feeling that the princess had seen through Gabe’s lies and didn’t care one way or the other.

The day wore on slowly. Castiel clapped politely when he was supposed to. Nodded at the knights as they filed by either going to a match of leaving it. He wished Gabe had let him bring a book, but he doubted that it would have made the best impression with the princess. 

“Oh, he’s back,” Lady Gilda commented just after they had finished their midday meal. 

“You’re right,” Princess Charlene said. “I wonder what he’s doing up there again. This is the third time, right?”

Castiel looked down at the field to see the two knights who were currently fighting. From this distance he couldn’t tell anything about the armour, but one wore a green coat and the other had yellow one.

“Which one?” He asked.

“The one in green,” Lady Gilda told him. “It has to be his third match of the day.”

“Oh, I hadn’t noticed that.”

“I can’t blame you,” Gabe said. “If you blinked you could have missed the first two matches.” He leaned over and whispered to Castiel. “But pay a bit more attention, he has a nice backside. Or so one of the servants said over lunch.”

Castiel blushed and refused to look at his brother. He did, however, pay a bit more attention during the fight. It seemed to go on longer than some of the other matches, but it was clear that the knight in green was the better fighter. The yellow knight could take a beating and it took quite some time before he eventually yielded. 

The next few matches were each over fairly quickly. The princess and her father were speaking quietly while Lady Gilda and Gabe struck up a conversation. Castiel just let his mind wander. A pair of small birds landed nearby and he entertained himself by feeding them some bread left over from the meal. 

“What are they saying?” Gabe asked him. 

Castiel looked over to see Gabe and Lady Gilda watching him and the hopping birds. “Mostly ‘bread’ over and over again. There’s some bashing of the birds who aren’t here and how stupid they are. But it’s mostly just ‘bread’.”

“Not many humans can talk to animals like that,” Lady Gilda said. “Usually it’s princesses and crazed hermits.”

“Well, my brother isn’t either of those,” Gabe assured her.

Castiel looked closer at the woman and had to blink his eyes a few times to focus them properly. She noticed and just smiled. She was an attractive woman. Her blue dress was simple, but expensively cut. Her dark hair was pulled back from her face with a clip and revealed a pale face. Her teeth were white, but too white. Her eyes were a deep brown, but caught the light oddly. She winked at him and turned back to watch the field.

Gabe nudged him. “Took you long enough.”

Castiel shook his head. It had been a long time since someone had convinced him that they were human when they weren’t. It took a lot of skill for a fairy to pass for human and this one seemed to have everyone fooled. Though they might not be fooled at all, they could all know what she was. He had heard rumours that the fairy courts had opened themselves to outsiders and sometimes sent their noble children to the courts of mortals. Which would mean that Lady Gilda’s mother was...

“You know the Fairy Queen,” he hissed at his brother.

Gabe just smiled. “In more than one way.”

“You didn’t.”

Gabe just smiled wider. He pointed down to the field. “Look, it’s your knight again.”

Castiel looked down and saw that the knight in green was once again taking the field. This time his opponent was wearing red. It was obvious that the green knight was tired. Castiel didn’t think it had even been an hour since he had last fought. He didn’t know anything about setting up the match schedule, but this seemed like a very short rest for the knight. 

The crowd seemed very interested in the match and Castiel found himself caught up in the excitement. Only a few minutes in it looked like the red knight had won, but after a quick exchange the red knight saluted the green and they began to fight again. More than once he found himself holding his breath as the two men hammered away at each other. And a few times he thought that the green knight might actually win this. 

He didn’t know what the mistake was, but he was sure one was made. The red knight hit the green knight’s shield and than rapped him across the helmet with the side of his sword. The green knight staggered backward and it was clear that the match was over. The green knight had lost. Castiel felt sorry for him and slumped back into his seat. Others around him, both in the royal box and the surrounding stands seemed to agree with him. There were equal parts cheering for the red knight’s victory and booing for the same victory. 

Another pair of knights, these ones in orange and blue took the field. The crowd seemed engaged enough, but Castiel had lost interest. Before the match was over Castiel stood and stretched his legs. 

“I’m gong to go for a walk,” he quietly told Gabe.

“The healer’s tent is that way,” Gabe pointed off to the left.

“I’m bored, not sick” Castiel told him. “Why would I need a healer?”

Gabe arched an eyebrow. “Thought you might want to check up on the green knight. Just to make sure he is okay. He did take quite the blow to the head.”  
Castiel huffed and worked his way out of the box and down the steps. He stretched again and walked off into the tents that surrounded the melee field. Through complete coincidence he began walking in the opposite direction of the healer’s tent.

********

Dean wasn’t sure how long he had rested on the cot. He was pretty sure he dozed off for a bit once the ringing in his ears settled down. Judging by the light filtering through the tent flap it was late afternoon. His head didn’t hurt anymore, but his left arm was definitely annoyed by his fight earlier. He turned his head to look at it and saw it was turning a dark shade of purple. It was going to hurt like hell in the morning. 

He decided to just rest a little longer before getting himself out of the sister’s way. They had been kind enough to let him stay here this long. He started to doze off again when a man came into the tent and called out loudly for a healer.

“I need to see someone right now,” the man demanded.

The same sister that had attended Dean walked over to the man and glanced him up and down. The man was obviously one of the knights from the tourney. He wore a pale blue tunic over his armour, but his helmet was missing. The sister led the man to a cot and sat him down.

“Be careful,” the man snapped as she began to remove his armour. “That is expensive. And watch my arm. It’s injured and needs attention.”

“It will be easier to attend it when the armour is gone,” was all the sister replied.

A few moments later the knight’s armour and tunic lay next to the man on the cot. Even to Dean could see that the man’s arm was broken. Free of the armour the arm bent at an awkward angle. The sister propped the limb gently with her fingers and elicited a hiss of pain from the man.

“That hurts, be careful.”

“It’s broken and will need to be set.” The sister straightened up and walked over to a table set in the centre of the tent. She picked up a clay bottle and poured some green fluid into a clay cup. She walked back over to the knight and handed it to him. “Drink this and I’ll set your arm.”

The knight took a sip and spat it out. “This tastes terrible. I’m not drinking it.”

“You can drink it and numb the pain while I set the bone or you can feel everything. Your choice. Alternatively I can just amputate the arm before it festers.”  
The man blanched and finished the contents of the cup in a few gulps. He made a face at the taste. The sister pulled some bandages and some sticks to act as a splint. She set them next to the knight. 

“I’ll give that some time to work and then set your arm for you.”

She walked around the tent checking on the other people there. She spoke briefly with some of the other sisters. When she came to Dean she looked in his eyes again and asked about the ringing. She seemed satisfied when he told her it was gone.

“Bruising aside, you’ll be fine,” she told him. “I’d avoid more fighting, but you knights never do.” She shook her head and walked back to the knight with the broken arm. “This will still be unpleasant.” 

The man held out his arm and gazed at her somewhat drunkenly. “Do your worst pretty lady.”

The sister sighed and began to set the arm. The knight cried out and pulled his arm away. She admonished him and tried again. He swore and pulled away again. In the end it took several of the other sisters to hold the man down long enough to set his arm and then wrap it. He cursed and moaned the entire time. When it was finally over the man collapsed backward on the cot and started snoring.

In between snores Dean heard the commotion outside. He sat up and winced as his arm and ribs protested. It sounded like someone screaming. He left the cot and poked his head outside the tent.

He heard the screams first and then caught the scent of smoke. A huge shadow passed quickly overhead. He looked up in time to see a large green tail disappear over the healer’s tent. He ducked back inside and grabbed his sword from where the sister had taken it before diving out of the tent. 

The crowd around him was panicking and racing in all directions. Dean looked around and decided that the best view would probably be from the melee field. He ran in that direction and did his best to avoid people. Several of the tents were burning and when he approached the edge of the field he could see the tattered remains of the stands. The royal box was damaged and also burning. A scream and a flash of red caught his attention.

Princess Charlene was running across the field away from the royal box. A shadow flashed over him and Dean saw a massive green dragon circle the field. It finished one circle and dove toward the princess. Dean began running toward her knowing he wouldn’t get to her first. 

Another scream caused him to look to his left while he ran. Another woman, this one in a blue gown, was running toward the princess as well. He couldn’t make out much of what she was saying, but it was very unladylike. 

As he predicted, the dragon got to the princess first. It scooped her up and flew back up into the sky. It was well out of the range of a sword. An archer might be able to hit the dragon, but would risk hitting the princess. 

Dean slowed his run and came to a stop. The dragon was rapidly flying away and would disappear over the western horizon long before anyone could mount a response. The woman in blue cursed loudly and he watched a small blue slipper fly in the direction of the dragon before bouncing off the ground a few times.


	3. Chapter 3

Things had not gone according to plan. Dean sighed and stared into the cup in his hands. He was not a heavy drinker normally. His father had shown him what could happen when a man was consumed by drink. Though in his father’s case it was more of a man pouring drink on after being consumed by grief. Despite what people said, drink had not killed his father. It was the loss of his mother. His mother had died 10 years before, shortly after Sam had been born. A sickness in her lungs took her and she burned up with fever before the healers could even get to her. His father had never recovered. Eight years later Dean had to bury his father next to his mother. After the funeral guests had left Dean had returned to the crypt and changed the date of his father’s death to the same date as his mother’s. 

Robert Singer, or Bobby as Dean had known him his entire life, had demanded to know why he had defaced his father’s tomb. Bobby had been a servant of the Winchesters for decades and often took a tone with the family the other servants felt was inappropriate. He had raised Dean and Sam as well as any could have.   
Dean had waved aside the man’s protests. “Made it accurate. The healers say it was the drink that killed him, but he died when mother did.”

Dean sighed again and pushed the cup away. This is why he didn’t drink. He got morose and would dwell on things long past. And none of that would help him right now. 

The plan had gone off the rails, but in his defense how did one plan for a surprise dragon? The creatures weren’t native to this kingdom. They weren’t even native to the surrounding kingdoms. That thing had flown for miles, over at least four kingdoms and a bunch of unclaimed territory that all the kingdoms claimed was theirs, to even get here. There must have been a half dozen princesses or noble daughters that could have been snatched up before getting to this kingdom. What made Princess Charlene so special?

Ogres he could have understood. They had lived all over the hills. He had read that, until a few years ago, a young knight could make a living clearing out the man-eating creatures. The nobles had learned that it was best to deal with the creatures eating their farmers. A happy, uneaten farmer was likely to produce more crops. The ogre population had been thinned and there hadn’t been an attack in over a year. 

Dean also would have accepted trolls over dragons. They usually liked water ways and there were plenty of rivers in the kingdom. He’d crossed more than a few on his way through the forests. But trolls didn’t like people and usually avoided them. A lone traveller might have troubles with one, but A troll would never have approached a gathering the size of the tourney. 

But it hadn’t been an ogre or a troll or even a giant. It had been a dragon. A dragon that had flown off with both a princess and Dean’s hopes of finding a patron. The rest of the tourney had been called off. Almost every knight had been sought out and given the quest of finding and returning the princess Charlene. Except those too injured to leave the healers’ care. 

Dean could have gone. He was injured, but not enough to prevent him from being sent out. But he couldn’t go because of the damned rules. Every member of the royal family, every noble, every high-born lady, every priest had given a knight the quest to find the princess. Even the retired bishop had been hauled before the court and bestowed his quest. But when Dean had arrived he had been turned away. Not because of his injury, but because of the stupid rule that each person could only give out one quest. There was simply no one left to task him with finding the princess.

The rule was stupid and not a single person would break it. The worst part for Dean was that he understood. He wouldn’t set out on his own to rescue the princess either because he hadn’t been given the quest to do it. This was definitely a quest, textbook case of a quest. Trying to undertake a quest without being tasked with it was a good way to end up dead, enchanted or some horrible combination of the two. There was no question of your success. Just how badly you would fail.  
There was nothing he could do. He would leave in the morning and head home. If fate was being kind, perhaps he would find something on the way home. Otherwise he would have to figure out Sammy’s future when he got back home. 

He ran his hand through his short hair and pulled his cup back toward him again. Maybe he would be able to figure something out in the morning.

******

Castiel was surprised at how little damage seemed to have been down to the tent town. There were burn marks on a few, a couple had been outright destroyed but most of the tents were undamaged. The stands around the melee field were mostly unsalvageable as anything other than firewood, which he found a little bit funny. He decided not to share the humour with anyone after he saw some of the people milling about. There was a level of anxiety that he could almost taste. There was concern for the princess. But the major concern was that the dragon might come back. The majority of the knights having been rounded up and sent on quests to retrieve the princess by anyone with the slightest authority to do so did not help. Who would protect these people if the dragon came back? The people didn’t know, and he didn’t have an answer for them.

He spotted his brother talking to Lady Gilda near a vendor that was closing up shop. Castiel suspected that almost all traces of the tent town would be gone in the next few days. Gabriel noticed him and waved him over. As he approached Castiel saw a few coins exchange hands with the shopkeeper. The old woman handed several flowers to Lady Gilda before turning back to packing things away.

“You remember my brother,” Gabe said to Lady Gilda. 

“It’s been less than a day,” Castiel reminded his brother. 

“True, but major things have happened since then.”

‘I do remember your brother,” Lady Gilda said. “It is hard to forget a man who can talk to birds. If you’ll excuse me I have to return to the castle. The court only wished me to deliver the message.” She turned and walked away rather abruptly. 

Castiel blinked after her. She seemed off. But her friend had just been kidnapped by a huge creature, so some allowances must be made. He turned to his brother. “So when will you be ready to leave?

“Oh, I’m not leaving,” Gabe told him. “The king has offered me a job and I’ve taken it.”

“You did what?”  
“Well, the king offered me a job in the sense that I can take the job of advising him through this crisis or I can sit in his dungeon until I have my head removed. His wording was quite…forceful.”

“You can’t be serious,” Castiel scoffed. “He can’t keep you here if you want to leave.”

“Maybe I want to hang around a little longer brother. It could be interesting. Besides, the woman who currently has the job of court magician needs to lay down for awhile lighting candles. She’s old and too tired to help with this. So I accepted on the condition that it would only be for a few weeks to months. Nothing longer than a year.”

“I’m not staying here for a year,” Castiel told him. “Without the princess being here there isn’t a chance for me to join her court. I might as well go home and find out whatever mother is planning for me.”

“That sounds like a lovely time.” Gabe led him toward a tent that was still operating and serving food. Let me buy you a meal before you hit the road and have to eat the stuff out of that horrible sack.”

“The food is fine,” Castiel told him. “You just don’t like it because it produces an endless supply of sweets.”

“It doesn’t produce any sweets at all,” Gabe whined. 

“Are you surprised? Mother enchanted it herself. She hates sweets.”

“Would probably wipe them out of existence if she could,” Gabe muttered. “But maybe they have something here.”

The morning light illuminated the inside of the tent. There were several large tables set up for the patrons and two women seemed to be running the establishment. They brought food and drink from a back area of the tent. There were not many patrons and the women did not seem to be overly rushed in their duties. Three old men were talking loudly off to one side about the dragon attack and how it signaled the end of days. There was some ‘in my day’ sprinkled in. The only other patron was a man drinking alone.

Gabe nudged his shoulder. “It’s your knight from yesterday.”

“My what?”

“The knight in green, the one you were pleading with the gods to let win yesterday. Very disappointing when he lost.”

“Half the crowd was cheering for him,” Castiel defended. 

“Yeah, but you were more invested than the rest of us.” Gabe tilted his head. “I wonder why he’s still here and not out there with the rest of the knights.”  
“I don’t know.” Castiel turned away and walked to one of the women. She told him about the food that was available. It was a simple meat and vegetable stew, but it was warm and that was something he would miss while on the road. The enchanted sack his mother gave him would conjure fresh food, but none of it was warm. The woman also confirmed there was some tarts that would probably deal with Gabe’s sweet tooth. 

When he turned back to tell Gabe this he noticed his brother had gone over to the man drinking alone. Both men were standing and they were exchanging some heated words. Gabe made sharp gesture and the knight abruptly stopped talking and blanched. Castiel sighed and walked over. He didn’t know what the spell Gabe had cast was showing the knight, but it wasn’t pleasant. He loved his brother, but sometimes he could be a bit of a jerk.

***********

“Look,” Dean told the man who had just tapped him on the shoulder. “I don’t know you and I don’t owe you any explanation. Leave me alone.”

“Seem to have hit a bit of a nerve there,” the man replied. “And of course you don’t know me. We just met, but I have seen you. Everyone at the melee yesterday saw you. Fought four matches only to the lose the fourth. People noticed. What I want to know is why you aren’t out there hunting for the missing princess. I thought all the knights were sent out. Or are you not really a knight?”

Dean had been mildly annoyed at the interruption to his pity party. He wasn’t in the mood for conversation and he definitely wasn’t in the mood to be interrogated. He didn’t want a confrontation either and was prepared to leave when the man questioned his knighthood. Dean had worked hard to earn the title. The training had been long and exhausting. Many days ended with him barely able to crawl into his bed. He was very proud of himself when he was finally raised to knighthood. He remembered beaming at the bishop that had performed the ceremony. The kindly old man had finished the rituals properly and as Dean turned to leave had hugged him. The bishop told him to go out and make the world a better place. And now this stranger was questioning that? 

He pushed himself away from the table and stood. “You will not question me in that manner. I have earned the right to be called a knight and you will not question my honour again.”

“Another touchy subject I see,” the man said. “But if you’re really a knight, why are you still here?”

“It’s not business of yours, but there was no one left to send me on a quest.”

“Is that all? I’m not big on formalities, but here goes.” The man flourished his cape. “I hereby charge you with the task of rescuing the Princess Charlene who has been captured by a dragon most foul.” He looked Dean over. “Will that work?”

Dean sighed. “Quests have to be given by lords and ladies or bishops or the like. I can’t accept a quest from anyone in a fancy cloak. Now would you leave me alone?”

“Anyone?” the man demanded. “I’m not just anyone. I am a wizard. A wizard of great power. I charge you with this quest.”

“Sure you are,” Dean told him. 

The man snorted in annoyance. His cloak began to shed smoke and Dean was momentarily worried that the thing had caught fire. The smoke poured off and flowed over the table and ground. The earth shook and Dean took a step backward to keep his balance. The smoke thickened and swallowed the tent. The ground shook again and fell away leaving Dean and the man hovering in the air. 

“Do you believe me now?” the man asked. His voice echoed around them. “I could leave you here if you need more convincing.”

“I believe you,” Dean whispered.

“Didn’t quite catch that.”

“I said,” Dean responded louder. “That I believe you. I’d like to go back now.”

The man winked. “Of course.” 

The world didn’t fade back in like it had faded away. Instead Dean blinked and he was standing where he had before what ever just happened had occurred. The man was still standing in front of him and he looked smug. 

“Now, is that enough to prove my credentials to send you out on a quest?”

“Yeah, I think that’ll be good,” Dean said. He was feeling a weird mixture of gratitude at being sent out on a quest and a desperate need to sit down. He decided to sit down before he fell down.

There had been a magician that his father occasional consulted when Dean was growing up. The man would occasionally perform some magic to entertain the family, but not very often. Until right now the most magical thing he had seen was the same magician turning into a bird to travel. It had been an impressive sigh seeing the man’s body flow into the form of a bird and then just fly away. Whatever this wizard did made that look like a parlor trick.

“What did you do to him Gabe.”

Dean looked up to see a man in a tan coat. There was a familial resemblance to the wizard, mostly in the face. The newcomer’s hair was messy, which was unlike the wizard’s neatly styled hair. And his eyes were a piercing blue. Dean found himself thinking of the sky on a clear winter’s day. He shook his head to clear it and wondered if this man might also be a wizard.

“I was just explaining who I was to him,” the wizard said. “He needed a little convincing.” The wizard clapped the other man on the shoulder. “This is my brother Castiel and this is……I’m sorry, I have no idea what your name is.”

“Dean Winchester,” Dean told him. 

“Technically it’s Sir Dean Winchester,” the wizard corrected. “He’s a knight you know Cassie.”

“I’m aware that he’s a knight,” the man said. “None of that explains what you did Gabriel.”

Gabriel ignored the tone in Castiel’s voice and turned back to look at Dean. “It turns out all this fine young knight needed was a person to give him a quest. And I’ve done that for him. So he’s going to go a questing now.” 

“Okay,” Castiel said warily. “I’m glad you could help him.”

“You know,” Gabriel said. “You should go with him. Actually, I insist you do.”

Castiel blinked and Dean thought he saw sparks actually fly from those blue eyes. Definitely a wizard.

“I cannot go with him,” Castiel said. 

He started to say something else when Gabriel muttered something. After that Dean couldn’t hear anything the pair said. Gabriel pulled his brother off to the side and the pair began having a heated conversation. Or at least it looked heated. Their mouths moved, but no sound reached Dean’s ears. He wasn’t really sure what to do. His quest giver hadn’t officially dismissed him.

********  
“Are you out of your mind?” Castiel demanded. “I cannot go on a quest. Wizards don’t go questing. Mother will be furious.”

“One, wizards go on quests all the time,” Gabe countered. “It’s just usually for rare books or ingredients for spells. And two, it’s not really a quest. You’re going to accompany him because I told you to. Not a quest.”

“You can’t order me around,” Castiel said.

“Actually, I can. I am a grand wizard Cassie. I outrank you.” Gabe looked smug. “Besides, I could always get mother to back me up if I wanted to. But I’d rather not. This will good for you.”

“How is wandering the countryside with a man I don’t know going to help me?”

“Well, I assume you would get to know him on the trip,” Gabe started. “Maybe more than just get to know him.”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence with a wink,” Castiel warned.

“Fine, and this will get mother off your back for a bit. Princess Charlene was supposed to take you on as an advisor and mother would leave you alone. Now the princess is gone. But if you go after her Mother would believe you are trying to convince the princess to take you on as an advisor and that would help improve our family’s influence. I’ll even suggest that you will be able to practice all sorts of spells while you are out there and you’ll come back even more powerful.”

“That’s an outright lie,” Castiel said. “No matter how much I practice I won’t become a powerful wizard because of this trip.”

“That’s because you already are one,” Gabe muttered.

Castiel pretended not to hear him. “This is a bad idea Gabe. I’ve never been on a quest and I don’t want to start now.”

“Doesn’t matter little brother,” Gabe smiled and wrapped his arm around Castiel’s shoulders. “You’re going. Oh, and food is here.”

The bubble of silence popped and Castiel was treated to the sound of his brother flirting with the woman who came over with their food. He looked at the knight and then back at his brother. He was going on a quest.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They finally start the quest. It took me a little bit longer to get there than I thought it would. A little bit of fluff too.

The sunrise was beautiful the morning Dean began his quest to rescue Princess Charlene from the dragon. He had spent the night preparing in a chapel near to the tent town. It was a tradition for a questing knight to spend the night in contemplation prior to leaving on a quest. He knew the sleepless night would catch up with him later in the day, but it was another one of those rules you just had to follow. 

The chapel was small and would have only fit a dozen people if they were not picky about being crammed up against one another. The monk that attended the chapel had performed the rites and then left him to his meditations. The night had been uneventful, but Dean felt calm in the morning and confident he could face whatever lay ahead. The monk returned just before dawn and provided him with some bread and cheese to break his fast. He sat on the chapel steps and watched the sun begin to peak over the horizon.

By the time Castiel rode up to the gate the sun had fully risen into the sky. The day dawned clear and the morning promised to be clear. Dean wasn’t so sure about the afternoon, but the next few hours should be pleasant. Castiel did not look overly pleased at being awake this early. He blinked sleepily at Dean as the knight walked across the small yard to the tree where he had tied Baby for the night. She looked ready to get moving and pranced a little when he led her over to the gate.

“Ready for your first quest?”

“Technically I’m just along for support,” Castiel yawned. “It’s your quest.”

“Alright,” Dean said. “Are you ready to join me on my quest?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” the wizard grumbled. “My brother said we should head southwest to start and travel from there. It makes no sense, the dragon flew west. But Gabe insisted we head southwest.”

Dean finished saddling Baby and pulled himself up. “It’s another tradition,” Dean told him. “The person giving the quest always picks the starting direction. You have to follow it.”

“What happens if you don’t?” Castiel asked.

“Bad things,” Dean said ominously. 

“What bad things?”

“You know, no one every even talks about it,” Dean admitted. “It’s just something you have to do.”

“Then let’s get this part over with.” Castiel rode his horse next to Baby and gestured to the road. “Lead on Sir Knight.”

The next few hours were as Dean had predicted. The sky was clear and the sun shone merrily down on the pair. They followed the road until it curved westward and into a forest. Dean didn’t think it was the same one he had come through to get to the kingdom. The trees were further spaced apart and more light filtered down through the leaves. 

There wasn’t much conversation which bothered Dean a little. He had been traveling alone for so long he had begun to look forward to having a companion on this quest to have someone to talk to. He hadn’t realized how much he’d been hoping to just talk with someone until it didn’t happen. Castiel was grumpy and not in the mood for conversation. Dean hoped it was just the early morning and that he would become a bit more talkative as the day progressed. The wizard intrigued him and he wanted to get to know his companion a little better.

Castiel did eventually start talking more, but it wasn’t to Dean. At first Dean thought the wizard was talking nonsense to his horse. He glanced over to see a small bird perched on the wizard’s shoulder. It was twittering away at him and Castiel was nodding along. Occasionally saying something in response. The conversation, if that’s what it was, went on for a few more minutes before the bird flew away. Dean was about to comment on the whole scenario when another bird settled on the Castiel’s shoulder and the whole process began again.

“Does that happen a lot?” Dean asked after the fifth bird flew away. 

“Birds are chatty creatures,” Castiel said. “They talk to people all the time, but really like it when they find one of us that can talk back.”

Dean liked birds well enough, but had never really thought about their chirps and whistles before. Now he was a little curious. “What do they say?”

“A lot of it is just about how great it is to fly,” Castiel smiled. “They love flying. Otherwise they talk about the food they’ve found and sometimes offer warnings.”

“Warnings?” Dean asked. “What can they warn us about?”

A small hard object smacked Dean in the side of his head. He was wearing his armour as was appropriate on a quest, but not his helmet. He didn’t see where the attack came from or who had thrown it. He scanned the road on either side and tried to see an attacker in the trees. He reached for his sword.

“Squirrels,” Castiel said.

“What?”

“The bird was warning us about the squirrels.”

Another object hit Dean, this one on the arm. It fell onto the saddle and slid toward his leg. He picked it up and held it between his fingers. It was an acorn. Another acorn hit his hand and he dropped the one he was holding. He looked up and saw the attacker.

A small red squirrel sat in the branches above the path and was readying another acorn to throw. It chittered angrily at him and threw the acorn. Dean raised his arm and blocked the missile. The squirrel stamped its foot and ran along the branch before disappearing into the leaves.

“Can you understand what it’s saying?” Dean asked. “Or can you just understand birds.”

“I can understand it, but I wish I couldn’t.”

“What did it say.”

“I’d rather not repeat it,” Castiel said. “It was all fairly offensive. He was questioning your ability to feed yourself because your teeth are so small.” Dean stared blankly before Castiel went on. “It’s a big insult for a squirrel. They’re kind of jerks overall. Just ignore it for now and we’ll be out of the squirrel’s territory soon. It’ll leave us alone after that.”

Dean shook his head and tried to ignore the next few acorns and screams from the branches above. The squirrel had surprising aim and pelted them both for almost   
ten minutes. It was a relief when it finally stopped.

“I’m glad that’s over,” Dean said after the screaming had stopped and the acorns weren’t flying anymore. Castiel didn’t say anything and they rode alone in silence for a little while.

About a half mile after they had left the squirrel’s territory another acorn smacked Dean’s chest with a dull *bonk*. He glanced up and saw a red squirrel reading another acorn to throw. He looked surprised at Castiel. 

“You said it would leave us alone once we left it’s territory.”

“It’s a big forest Dean,” Castiel said. “Bound to be more than one squirrel.”

**********

The rain started before midday. Castiel smiled to himself. He had always liked the rain. The gentle patter of the drops of water hitting the ground had a calming effect on him. Growing up he would sit out in the garden during the rain showers that came in the spring. His nurse had always admonished him about it and scolded him into a bath to make sure he wouldn’t catch cold. When he got older it was his mother directly who would do the scolding. None of it worked, he would still sit out for the rains. Eventually his mother gave up and had arches constructed over the benches in the garden. She had the gardeners plant vines along the base of the arches. He remember how she had woven the spells to speed the growth of the vines and how the gardeners had guided the vines to cover the arches. His mother had told him that if he was going to be so silly as to sit outside in the rain he would have to do it under some protection at least.

The branches and leaves above sheltered Dean and himself from the worst of the shower, but they were still going to get wet. He noticed Dean pull up the hood on his cloak. It was the same shade of green as his tunic. His own coat had no hood and he didn’t feel the need for one. 

They traveled on without speaking and just listening to the sound of the rain. The sun still shone above and Castiel thought the shower might pass quickly. The birds continued to sing from their hiding places among the trees. He enjoyed their song, they were singing about how sad they were that they couldn’t fly and how happy they would be when they could again.

He was so lost in listening to the song that he hadn’t noticed the rain had begun to fall harder. He was startled into noticing it when he felt himself wrapped in warmth. Dean’s green cloak settled around him and the knight pulled the hood up before he could react.

“Can’t have you catching cold,” Dean explained.

“Wouldn’t it be worse if you caught a cold?” Castiel asked. He tried to ignore the warm feeling in his chest that had nothing to do with how warm the cloak was. “It is your quest.”

“Knights never catch colds on their quests,” Dean said seriously. “Might get injured, but never sick. It’s one of those rules. Can you imagine how silly it would be to hear about a knight with a cold fighting a dragon?”

“That probably wouldn’t make for a very good story,” Castiel admitted. “Maybe we should find somewhere to shelter until the rain passes.”

They found a rocky outcropping not long afterwards. It provided enough cover to keep them both and the horses out of the rain. They had just settled themselves down when it began to rain in earnest. Castiel liked the rain, but even he wouldn’t have sat out in the garden for this.

Dean rummaged through his saddle bag and pulled out a package wrapped in waxed paper. He unwrapped it and handed Castiel a few strips of dried meat. They looked they contained more salt that meat. Castiel wasn’t sure the meat was younger than he was. 

Dean noticed his hesitation. “I have some cheese if you’d prefer that, but none of it is really fancy stuff. I wasn’t able to find much to buy”

Castiel took a strip and nibbled on it. He had been right, it was incredibly salty. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever had anything as salty, but he didn’t say anything about that. It had been a kind gesture. And one he felt he should return. A voice in the back of his head told him that he should also return Dean’s cloak, but he ignored it.  
After a moment of rummaging around in his own pack he pulled out a small sack about the size of his hand. It was made of a velvety fabric and heavily embroidered and a blanket he intended to use for sleeping later. Dean was watching him quizzically as he came back over.

“You’ve shared, so I should too,” Castiel told him. He set the blanket down on a flat rock and reached in and pulled out an apple that he passed to Dean. He dipped in again and pulled out a chunk of cheese, half a loaf of bread, another apple, some roasted chicken and finally a small wad of butter wrapped in waxed paper.   
Dean’s eyes widened with each addition from the bag. All the food could not have fit in the bag, the bread alone was bigger than the bag it came from. His arms were growing quite full by the time Castiel stopped producing more food.

“That is a useful bag,” Dean said. 

“I like magic when it’s practical,” Castiel said. He started taking the food from Dean and setting it down on the rock. “I’ve never really cared for the showy magic.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Dean told him as he settled down next to the rock. 

Castiel noticed that the knight waited until he had started eating before taking anything. He also noticed that Dean didn’t take very much.

“You can have as much as you want,” Castiel commented. “The bag won’t run empty. Mother is very good with enchantments that involve fabrics.”

“I was thinking to save it for dinner,” Dean admitted. “I’m usually hungrier then and we could make a soup or something.”

“Doesn’t work that way,” Castiel explained. “Whatever we don’t eat vanishes afterward. “If we want more, we have to pull it from the bag.” 

After that Dean tucked into the spread with a bit more vigor and there was very little left. Castiel made a point of finishing the strip of meat that Dean had given him.   
Later that afternoon he gave Dean back his cloak. The rain had stopped hours before and he couldn’t justify keeping it to himself anymore. 

“If you’re cold you can keep it Cas,” Dean told him.

“Cas?”

“Castiel seems a bit formal for a man who can talk to birds and squirrels,” Dean blushed. “If you don’t like it I won’t do it again.”

“Cas,” Castiel said more to himself than Dean. “I think I can live with that.”

The warm feeling fluttered up in his chest again.

******

The road they followed led them out of the forest the following day. They come out at the top of a hill and Dean could see that more trees were in their future. The road wound its way down to a small village near a river and then back into the treeline. Looking north he could see that the forest they were leaving just continued around the village and off to the west. There were open fields of grassland to the south.

They made good time down the road to the village, though they weren’t pushing the horses. Baby kept slowing her pace to let Cas’ horse. He could tell she would want to run in the near future, but seemed content with the current pace for now.

The village was made up of a single street with buildings lining the side. The main occupation seemed to be fishing from the river or shipping along the river. Not a port town exactly, more of a stop along the way. A larger building seemed to be an inn of sorts and given the people milling around it, was likely the social hub of the area. 

The villagers themselves had definitely noticed the pair riding out of the woods. Cas’ clothing was of high quality and clean despite having been on the road for a day. It was the type of thing people noticed and would talk about. Even if they didn’t talk about Cas they definitely would talk about Dean. His armour marked him as a knight and there was no way people would fail to mention that to everyone they knew. It didn’t bother Dean that they would talk, he wasn’t trying to hide himself, but he didn’t care for the way they all scurried off the road and into the buildings. It bothered him that they felt he was so much better than them. The annoyance might have shown on his face because people moved faster as they approached the edge of town.

Cas looked around as they rode along the road. “Is it typical for people to flee a knight on an important quest?”

“No really,” Dean sighed. “But a lot of people buy into the whole ‘I’m a knight so I can do whatever I want because I’m better than you’ school of thought. People sometimes run in case I’m in a bad mood an want to hurt someone because I can.”

“An unusual stance for a man of your standing,” Castiel commented. “Most people would be happy to take advantage of wealth and privilege.”  
Dean cursed internally and tried to keep his face neutral. He might have put his foot in his mouth with Cas. Wizards almost always came from powerful and wealthy families. Just the type of families that Dean had insulted. 

“I don’t disagree with you,” Cas continued before Dean could stammer out an explanation. “Just pointing out that it is a little odd.”

“Yeah, my parents weren’t thrilled about it,” Dean said. “I usually keep those thoughts to myself. I’m not sure why I even said anything.”

Dean sighed in relief when Cas let the matter drop and they continued through the village. Both of them pretended not to notice the faces peeking through mostly closed doors and from around corners. If the villagers were afraid of them calling them out would not help matters. Best to just move on and leave them alone.

They had just passed the edge of the village when a man darted out from the last hut and ran up to them. Dean guessed he was in his late forties, but dirt and hard living made it hard to tell for sure. 

“Sir knight,” the man stammered. “The others said I should leave you alone, but I had to ask for help. You might be the only one who can.”

Dean knew the role this man expected him to take and kept his face neutral, not angry or interested, but almost bored. “What is your trouble?”

“It’s my daughter,” the man gushed out. “She’s missing for these past few days now. The elders say she’s run off, but I know better. She is a good girl and wouldn’t abandon her family. It’s that beast that got her, I know it. It got Hedrick’s son too. He’s been gone a solid week.”

“Beast?” Dean asked. “Are you saying an animal harmed your daughter?”

“No mere animal,” the man assured him. “This is an unnatural creature.” He lowered his voice. “A werewolf.”

“A werewolf? Are you sure?”

“Yes,” the man said. “It pretends to be a man in the woods. Has red eyes and clawed hands. Howls at you when you get close. Always has a pack of hellhounds around. Huge beasts able to tear a man in half with a single bite. Theo saw it with his own eyes he did when he went looking for firewood. We stay out of the western woods it isn’t safe.”

“Why haven’t you approached your lord about this?” Cas asked.

The man bowed slightly to Cas. “The elders don’t want to bother him. He is a busy man. We haven’t sent for a hunter because we have so little money.” He turned back to Dean. “But you Sir. You could help us. Please. I would go myself, but I have a small son and I am no fighter.”

Dean said nothing for a few minutes. He hated this part of the expected interactions. He had to wait and let the man think he was deliberating. He had yet to meet a noble who hadn’t made up their mind almost immediately, but all of them went through this song and dance. 

“I will seek out this beast for you,” Dean said. “If I find a monster I shall slay it.”

“Oh thank you,” the man said. “Thank you thank you thank.” He fell to his knees and began to cry.

Dean nodded at him and pushed Baby into a walk. He heard Cas follow him.

“Why did you accept that man’s request?” Cas asked. “You are already on a quest.”

“These things happen,” Dean explained. “As long as a request doesn’t interfere with my quest I can offer my help. Sometimes it helps later on. My tutors told me a few stories where people helped along the way offer assistance when the knight needs it most. Besides, he obviously needs some help.”

“Do you think it’s really a werewolf?”

“Probably not. It’s possible she just ran off with the other kid.” Dean shrugged. “But if it really is a werewolf I can’t leave it to roam the countryside. Besides, it seems to be on our way."


	5. Chapter 5

The Western Woods were almost identical to the part of the forest they had just left. The only reason he knew there was suppose to be a difference was the trip through the village. If he had fallen asleep in the saddle Dean was sure that he wouldn’t have even known he had left the forest at all. The one difference he noted was that he wasn’t being pelted by acorns. He wasn’t sure if this was because there weren’t any squirrels around or if they just hadn’t armed themselves yet. Either way he was happy to avoid being attacked.

There were plenty of birds around though, and they seemed to love Cas. Every time he turned to look at him there was a bird on his shoulder or flying near by. Not that he looked all that often, he didn’t want to appear creepy. He thought he was being subtle with his glances though, the wizard never seemed to notice them at least. Dean had to admit, at least to himself, that he liked the faraway look on Cas’ face whenever he was chatting with the birds. He had the same look when they stopped for a quick meal and a grumpy badger had wandered by. It made him look at peace. Most of the time Dean noticed that Cas almost always looked distracted, like he was worrying about something. He wasn’t forthcoming with his concerns, so Dean didn’t push. 

He was so distracted with his thoughts about Cas that he didn’t hear the wizard when he spoke at first. Cas had to call twice before Dean pulled himself out of his thoughts.

“Sorry, I zoned out there,” Dean apologized. “What did you say?”

“I asked if you thought there was something wrong here,” Cas repeated.

Dean looked around. The forest appeared unchanged. Light streamed through the trees and banished most of the shadows. Plant life flourished all around. Small shrubs, flowers, vine sand the trees themselves. He could hear, but not see, small animals in the underbrush. It was a normal looking forest.  
“Not really,” Dean said. “It looks like the eastern part of the woods. Except there’s no squirrels declaring war.”

“Exactly,” Cas said. “I’m not a knight, so I might be wrong about this, but shouldn’t this be a dark and foreboding thicket? No sun, shadows everywhere, twisted brambles and mist that shouldn’t be possible floating outward along the path?” The wizard gestured around. “This is all so mundane. If this is how werewolves live I will be sorely disappointed at the books I’ve read.”

Dean nodded. Cas was right, and he should have noticed that earlier. This did not match with how werewolves should live. It was all so picturesque. He half expected a unicorn to step out from behind a tree.

“You’re right. It’s all so normal looking. If that villager had been right about everything then we should have been attacked by hell hounds by now.”

“I’m not complaining about that,” Cas said. “They can be nasty creatures.”

“I’ve never seen one.”

“I saw one as a child,” Cas said. “It was a huge, almost as big as a horse. Black as night and red hot eyes. It sort of absorbed the light from around it so it appeared even darker. It’s howl freezes your soul and you can’t even move. My nurse passed out after hearing it.”

“How did you escape?” Dean had read accounts of monster attacks and always wondered how people managed to escape these situations. If the creatures were that deadly how did the author of the tale make it out alive to tell it? He knew that some of it was made up for dramatic effect, but there had to be some truth to the tales.

“My father stormed into the dining hall and banished it,” Cas laughed. “Then he beat my brother near senseless for doing something so stupid.”

“Gabriel summoned a hell hound in your dining hall?”

“No.” Cas’s laughter stopped and his lips twisted in distaste. “I have more than one brother. It was my second eldest brother who did it. Father was not pleased.”

“I bet,” Dean said. “I guess it would be hard to parent a child who could do that stuff.”

“Our parents made do,” Cas said. “Not too many accidents. A lot of the danger of magic is trying to doing something before you’re ready. If you just pick up a book and try casting an advanced spell you’re going to get hurt. You need to learn basic magic first and then build on that. Generally by the time you can do something really dangerous you have the knowledge to be smart about it.”

“I guess I should be happy that your brother chose to be nice to me than,” Dean said. “I’d hate to think what he would have done if he had been careless.”

“Gabriel contents himself with parlor tricks for the most part,” Cas told him. “But he really is a grand wizard and could has some powerful magic at his disposal if he wanted to call on it. Fortunately for the world he’s too busy chasing women and desserts to get up to too much trouble.”

“What makes him a grand wizard?” Dean asked. “Is it just power?”

“Sort of,” Cas explained. “Power is part of it, but what grants you the title is the your staff. When a wizard casts powerful enough magic they manifest their staff. It’s sort of a symbol of office. It tells people that you’re powerful and have high level magical talent.”

“Where’s yours?” Dean asked.

“I don’t have one. I’m not a grand wizard.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to,” Dean started. “I mean, if you don’t want to talk about it.”

“It’s fine,” Cas sighed. “I’m fine not having that level of power. Wizards who obtain it always have to do great and wonderful things all the time. I don’t want that life. Mother just keeps trying to push me into it. I’d be happy reading books, talking to birds and maybe growing a garden.”

“Can you do that if you’re a grand wizard?” Dean asked. “I mean, if you’re that powerful can’t you just tell people to go away?”

“What story have you heard where a wizard tells the hero go ‘bugger off’?”

“Good point,” Dean admitted. “Maybe that’s why quests take so long, so wizards can have a break.”

“I wouldn’t put it past a wizard,” Cas said. “We are a sneaky lot.”

********

They rode along for another hour before Castiel spotted the hound. He pulled his horse up and pointed it out to Dean.

“Perhaps we do have hell hounds.”

The knight followed his arm and saw the hound. It was a young animal in that gangly in-between stage between puppyhood and adulthood. Its fur was a light brown   
and its floppy ears bounced as it ran toward them yipping in excitement. The animal was too excited for Castiel to make any sense out of its speech. 

“It looks like the hunting hounds father had growing up,” Dean said. He smiled at the animals excitement and laughed when it tripped over its own paws. 

“Be careful,” Castiel warned. “These are rumoured to tear a man in half with a single bite.”

Dean looked at the dog carefully and laughed. “I bet this guy will grow up to be a real terror.” He looked around at the trees. “I wonder what he’s doing out here all by himself. He’s too healthy and friendly to be wild.”

“He has to live nearby,” Castiel said as he slid off his horse.

He walked over to the dog and knelt down. He immediately regretted it as the animal barreled into him and knocked him on his ass. His face was quickly covered in drool as the animal leapt up and licked him all over. It took him several minutes to calm the happy animal down before he could get any answers out of it. 

“He seems to like you,” Dean said as he handed Castiel a handkerchief. 

“I think he likes everyone,” Cas said while wiping his face down. “I doubt he would make a good guard animal.”

“Did he tell you where he lives?”

“He lives not far from here.” Castiel climbed back up on his horse. “I think. His sense of distance is a little hard to understand. I think he lives around the bend there.”

Once both men were on their horses the dog took off down the road barking happily. The horses followed along. It wasn’t long until they came across a cottage set back from the road. There was some cleared land that was fenced off next to the cottage. A large kennel was in the yard and about a dozen dogs were in the fenced area. Most were napping in the sun, but perked up when they heard the ‘hell hound’ barking away. Soon the entire pack of them were barking in return. It made a huge racket.

The door to the cottage opened and man stepped out. If Castiel was bring charitable he would have called him ‘slight’, but the man was honestly scrawny. Thin faced, thin build and mussed hair. He wore plain clothes that just hung off him. He called out loudly to the dogs to stop making so much racket. It had almost no effect. The dogs had seen the visitors and they had to announce their presence to everyone. The man ran his hand through his hair and turned away from the   
barking animals. He noticed the riders and the ‘hell hound’ at his gate. 

“Baxter,” the man called. “You knock off barking your fool head off and get back here.” 

The ‘hell hound’ didn’t stop barking but did go to the man and dance around his feet. Baxter ran around for another minute or two before running back to the fenced off area and slipped easily under the fence into the yard. The other dogs greeted him and eventually the noise settled down.

“Sorry about that,” the man apologized. “They make a lot of noise when they get excited. Makes it hard to have company come over, but it’s hard for thieves to get in too.”

“Do you have a lot of visitors out here?” Dean asked.

“Not really. You’re the first in awhile.” The man shook his head and took a closer look at his visitors. His eyes widened and he dropped to his knees. “I am sorry, m’lords. I have been very rude. What can I do for you?”

Castiel couldn’t see it, but he almost felt Dean roll his eyes. He decided to stay quiet and let Dean take the lead. There was something about this man he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

“Please don’t start that,” Dean said. “Get up. And tell us who you are.”

The man clambered out of the dirt and kept his eyes averted. “My name is Garth, Sir. I raise and sell hunting dogs. Thank you for bring Baxter back. He’s a good pup, but energetic right now.” The man babbled something else that Castiel couldn’t make out.

“Maybe you can help us,” Dean said. “Do you have any dealings with the village a few hours east of here?”

“I occasionally have buyers for my dogs from there,” Garth said. “I sometimes send the dogs along the river to buyers as well.”

“Have you seen a young woman in the last few days? Her father told me she was missing and was concerned she might have disappeared in these woods. Said there was a dangerous beast here.”

Castiel noticed the man blanched when Dean spoke of beasts. He was far enough behind Dean that he didn’t think the man would notice him if he was careful. He closed his eyes and quietly began casting a spell. He had used it countless times before and the words and gestures came easily to him. Once he built the power he slowly released it before opening his eyes again. 

The first thing he was struck by was the rich green surrounding Dean. A person’s aura could tell you a great deal about them. Dean’s told him that he was healthy, kind and determined. There were darker areas that suggested at deep hurt, but Castiel didn’t know what would have caused them. The outer edges were loose which meant he had loved, but not yet found a true love. That sent a little thrill through Castiel that he quickly clamped down on. He was invading Dean’s privacy and that needed to stop.

With effort he tore his gaze away from the green of Dean’s aura and took a closer look at Garths. The man’s aura was a bright yellow and just as vibrant as Dean’s. He also had a dark spot, but only one right near his heart. The spot was ringed with a deep red.. It was big and suggested some significant trauma had occurred. Something dark and violent had happened with this man. Garth’s aura remained yellow over his hands, no darkness and no red. The violence had happened to him, but he had not perpetrated the act. Nor had he continued the cycle of violence that so often occurred to those who were hurt.

Reading auras was almost always a visual experience, but sometimes other sense would be triggered. When Castiel looked at Garth’s aura near his head he only saw yellow, but he smelt the rich earthy scent of the forest. And he heard howling. 

Castiel blinked and ended his spell. The risk of staring at Dean’s aura was growing and that wouldn’t help here. As the colours faded from his vision he was able to pay attention to the conversation.

“I don’t know about a monster,” Garth was telling Dean. “I haven’t seen anything like that in the woods. Just some deer and raccoons that I use to train the dogs. Not even any bears.”

“The villager was quite sure that there was a werewolf here,” Dean said. “It might be dangerous for you to stay.”

“They drink a lot down there,” Garth laughed shakily. “Tell each other all sorts of tales and get themselves worked up.”

“Dean.” Castiel put his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Let me.” He rode forward so Garth could see him more clearly. “Did you see a young man come this way about a week ago and a young woman a few days ago?”

“I did,” Garth said. “Though it was at the same time. They said they were going to be married. They asked directions to Brightwood Abbey. It’s a few days south. I gave them direction and sold them one of my dogs for protection.”

Castiel locked eyes with Garth. “Do you swear this is true?”

Without looking away Garth nodded.

“I need you to say it aloud. Do you swear it?”

“I swear that what I have told you is true,” Garth said quietly.

“I’m glad,” Castiel told him. “We thought they had likely run off and they weren’t killed by a murderous werewolf and his pack of hell hounds.”

Behind him Dean laughed. “Those would half to be the sorriest hell hounds ever.”

Garth looked at Castiel with wide eyes. His face was white and he was starting to sweat. He looked terrified. He swallowed loudly. “They can barely chase down rabbits right now, could never hunt down the souls of the damned.”

“You should move,” Castiel told him sadly. “Far from here. Go as far as you can and then go further. The village may have the details wrong, but they are on to you.   
The next person who comes knocking might not ask as many questions.”

Garth nodded and bolted into the house. The dogs began barking again at the sudden movement.

“What was that about?” Dean asked. “Why did you tell him to leave?”

“The villager was right,” Castiel told him. “Garth is a werewolf.” He reached out quickly and grabbed Dean’s arm. “He hasn’t killed anyone and he’s had years to do it.   
The attack was a long time ago and there is no blood on his hands.”

Dean looked confused, but didn’t pull away. “How do you know he’s a werewolf? And how do you know he won’t hurt anyone?”

“I read his aura. I can see the stain of the attack that turned him, but he doesn’t have the stain of murder on him.” Castiel let his hand drop. “He’s not entirely human anymore, but he isn’t a monster. He’s had years to hurt and kill, but he hasn’t done it. I don’t think he will. He helped those kids.”

“Can you trust him? He might have lied.”

“There are rules that bind the supernatural.” Castiel rubbed the back of his head as he tried to find a way to explain it. “You said that you have to do things a certain way because you’re on quest, right? There are rules like that for magical creatures too. Like a vampire can’t enter a home unless invited. A lot of the rules vary from creature to creature. But anyone who has magic in them has to be careful around oaths and promises. If they swear to do something they have to do it. If they swear something is true it has to be true, at least as far as they know it. Werewolves have magic in them, tainted magic, but magic nonetheless. If he swore he sent the kids off with a dog to keep them safe, that’s what happened.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure Dean.”

“Does the same rule apply to wizards?” Dean asked. “Can you lie?”

“I can lie all I want,” Castiel said. “But I don’t make promises lightly. I have to follow through with them or bad things happen.”

“What kind of bad things?”

“I’ve never tried to find out.”

There was a loud crash from inside the cottage and some swearing. Occasionally Garth could be seen through a window darting around.

“Is he going to be okay?”

“I hope so. If he moves far enough away he might be safe.” Castiel nudged his horse back to the road. 

“It’s hard to imagine him as a werewolf,” Dean said as he and Baby joined Castiel. “He just seems so innocent.”

“That’s because he is. He hasn’t hurt anyone. If someone kills him it’ll leave a dark stain on their soul.”  
Dean smiled. “I’m glad you warned him.”

“Me too,” Castiel said aloud. He began to think about the rich green that made up the knight’s aura and how glad he was that Dean wouldn’t stain his aura by shedding innocent blood. He was tempted to cast the spell again so he could look at it some more. He resisted the temptation, but it was closer than he would ever admit.


	6. Chapter 6

Dean had woke the next morning feeling good about the decision that Cas had made about Garth the previous day. There wasn’t a single book or story that would agree with the choice about letting a werewolf go free, but he didn’t care about that. He trusted that Cas knew what he was talking about when he said that Garth was an innocent man and that he hadn’t hurt anyone. Dean found the idea of hurting someone based off what they might do distasteful. He was not a stranger to violence. He had killed before. He wasn’t proud of it, but he had been defending those that looked to him for protection. 

A neighbouring knight had looked to expand his lands. He had moved the land markers far enough into Winchester land that an entire village had suddenly moved to the other knight’s territory. When the villagers protested many of them had been killed. A young girl had managed to slip away and came to Dean’s father to beg for help. John Winchester had been a great knight in the past, but by the time that girl arrived he was a drunken wreck. He could barely stand. It fell to Dean to fulfil the obligations to the people.

He had conferred with Bobby and together they rounded up a few men who were willing to help. Some owed loyalty to John. Some were friends of Bobby’s and offered help with no strings attached. Dean led a company of fifteen men out to have a chat with the neighbour. It was the first time he had engaged in real combat and was grateful that Bobby had been at his side. He had only been sixteen.

The fight could not have been called a battle, it was barely a skirmish. Dean and his company arrived and had no trouble finding the men who had been attack the village. Even though he was young, Dean was the leader of the company and had to issue the challenge. The men had laughed at him. It turned out they were far more skilled at fighting unarmed peasants than trained fighters. 

After it was done four men had been killed and the rest scattered. Dean had slain one of those men. When the adrenaline wore off he started to feel the weight of his actions and began to shake. It was Bobby who took him aside. 

“Look boy,” Bobby said in the gruff way he spoke. “Men die. It’s the way of the world. Sometimes it’s disease or age or accident that kills a man. Sometimes it’s because you stuck a knife in him. Men have lots of reasons to kill each other. I’ve seen men killed over gold, women, honour, faith or even just because they were told to kill. Lots of reasons, not all of them good.” Bobby pointed to the body of the man killed. “That man? Had you not been here would have killed more of the people that are yours to protect. Being a knight isn’t about riding around on a fancy horse in a shiny shirt. It’s about protection and duty. You protect those people because they need it. You help those who can’t and you damn well try to make this world better than it is.”

Dean had gotten his shaking under control. “I did what was needed, right?”

“Don’t been an idiot,” Bobby had scoffed. “Of course you did. I won’t tell you to not lose sleep over this, because I know you will. I won’t, but then I know that man was a bastard who got what was coming to him. We’ll let the king know about this and he’ll deal with that idiot neighbour of yours.” He put an arm around Dean’s shoulder and led him away. “Now let’s see about getting some people to move those markers back where they belong.”

In all the years Dean had known Bobby the man had shifted effortlessly from one role to another as the situation called for it. Sometimes he was a close friend or confidant to Dean. Other times he was an older brother or even a father figure. He was technically a servant to the family, but it never would have occurred to Dean to treated him like one. It was moments like that conversation that had shaped Dean into the man he was. Bobby had raised him just as much as his father and mother had. 

Dean felt confident that Bobby would have agreed with his and Cas’ decision to let Garth go. That had been part of the reason he had been in a good mood that morning. The other was that he looked forward to what adventure the day might bring. He doubted that all the problems ahead would be as easily dealt with as the pack of hell hounds, but he was sure they’d find solutions to whatever happened.

He rolled himself out from under his blankets and set about cleaning their campsite. It didn’t take long. The fire had burned out already and all that he really had to do was roll up his sleeping blanket and pack it away. There weren’t any dishes to clean because Cas always dealt with the food. His meager pack of rations remained tucked away in his bag and he was glad to leave it there. The food the bag produced was fresh and he preferred that over hard cheese and salty meats. He had grumbled a little when the bag had produced an entire meal without any meat or cheese. Cas had laughed at him over that and just kept pulling vegetable after vegetable from the bag. Dean relented and ate what the bag had decided was his meal for the evening. He decided that Cas’ mother had a mean streak to her.

He had finished saddling Baby by the time Cas was waking up. It had taken him very little time to realize that Cas’ pleasantness as a companion was directly proportionate to how high the sun was in the sky. Dawn was a bad time to be near the man. He got more tolerable the closer they got to noon. By midday the wizard was human again and it was safe to talk to him. Even the birds avoided him first thing in the morning.

Dean began saddling Cas’ horse while the wizard pulled himself out from under the blankets. Grumbling darkly under his breath Cas stalked over to the saddle bag and pulled out the food bag to procure some apples and cheese for their morning meal. Once the wizard was awake enough Dean helped him into the saddle and then mounted Baby. Cas passed him an apple and some cheese. Dean accepted without saying anything and the pair rode off into the morning light to whatever adventure awaited.

*******

It had been nearly two full days since anything interesting happened. The closes thing to excitement yesterday was finding a road sign that pointed south and read ‘Brightwood Abbey’ in fading script. It was nice to have more confirmation of Garth’s story, but Castiel had hoped for a little more….well…anything. 

Logically he knew that any adventure story had been edited down to the most exciting bits. The storyteller might spend an hour regaling their audience with clever third sons of tailors and all the great deeds the boy got up to, but the teller left out the boring bits. Sleeping under a wagon in the rain didn’t make for great fireside stories. Nor did hiking across the entire kingdom on foot. So Castiel had figured this would happen during this quest. Long stretches of nothing interesting happening. It was all just so boring. 

His conversations with the birds an animals didn’t help as much as he would have hoped. He made the mistake of trying to get some of the birds to tell him how big the forest was. Then at least he’d have an idea of how long before the scenery changed. It took several tires, but eventually they understood what he wanted and he was able to understand the answer. The forest went on for as far as they could see. Horizon to horizon full of green trees. Broken here and there by rivers and large areas that he thought might be settlements of some kind. Though it could just be natural rocky formations. Birds were a little shaky on architecture. Sparrows had the same word for both natural rocks and man-made buildings. 

He wasn’t sure how Dean was dealing with this tedium so easily. The lack of any sort of activity other than riding didn’t seem to bother the man at all. Dean made conversation with him whenever he initiated it. And often when he didn’t. Perhaps it was a thing that knights were trained for. They must receive some lessons on how to act during a quest. Maybe he was just trained to tolerate these boring stretches on a journey. Wizards didn’t do well with waiting to get from place to place. The more powerful ones just were suddenly wherever they wanted to be. More than once he saw his mother just vanish from their home and reappear hours later after visiting his aunt who lived days away. Once Gabe mastered teleportation he would almost always use it for trickery or self gain. It wasn’t uncommon for his brother to go missing only to suddenly turn up with his pockets stuffed with sweet rolls. 

Castiel couldn’t cast a spell as powerful as teleportation and was stuck walking. Even if he could, he didn’t know where he was going and the spell would likely fail. Or put them hundreds of miles from where they wanted to go. Or at the bottom of the sea. He sighed and glanced over at Dean. The knight’s calm demeanor made him want to shake the man until he reacted to the boredom that he should rightfully feel.

It was late afternoon by the time they reached the river. The sun had begun its dip into the western sky and it would only be a few hours until it was totally dark. He wasn’t sure if it was the same river that ran past the village several days back, but regardless it was significantly wider here. The opposite bank was distant enough that he had trouble making out details in the afternoon light. The road ran along the river for a stretch, but ended rather abruptly at the water’s edge. There should have been a bridge. But Castiel couldn’t’ see one. There was a small dock that jutted out into the river a few feet and a barge tied to it. He saw a young man reclining on the barge as they rode closer. The man perked up when he saw them.

“If you want to cross to the other side I can get you there cheap,” he told them. “But we’ll have to leave now. I don’t travel the river after dark. There are bandits about.”

“What do you think?” Dean asked. “Camp out on this side or find a spot on the other side?”

“We haven’t seen anything this side,” Castiel told him. “Might be better spots on the other side. It shouldn’t take all that long to cross us over.”

“It’ll take two trips to get you and the horses over,” the man told them. “I’ll take one of you and the horses first to get them across while it’s still bright out. The second trip will be faster since it’ll be a lighter load.”

Dean looked at Castiel again. The wizard shrugged back.

“How much,” Dean asked. The man gave him a price and Dean outright laughed at him. They went back and forth for a few minutes and eventually settled on a price. Half when before the first trip and the rest when everyone was on the other side. 

“Fine,” the man grumbled as Dean gave him half the coins. “You can send whoever you want with the horses, but I suggest your unarmoured friend go first. You look heavier in all that metal.”

Castiel shrugged again. “Fine by me, unless you want to go first.”

“I’m fine waiting over here,” Dean said. “Nice to stand off a horse for a little bit.”

It took a little bit of coaxing to get the horses onto the barge, but they calmed when Castiel stepped on board and offered reassurances. He didn’t speak horse as fluently as he did the various bird languages, but it was enough to keep the animals calm. 

Once he was on board the young man started poling them across the river. Castiel hadn’t noticed it at first, but there was a rope attached to the barge that ran the width of the river. The young man poled them across and used the rope as a guide. The river was quite deep toward the middle and the current was strong enough that he could feel its pull on the barge. 

The attack came suddenly. Castiel heard the shouts and looked back to the bank to see several men bursting from the bushes. They were all armed and ran toward Dean. He saw the knight pull his sword and block the downward strike of an axe. Dean moved from defensive to offensive and the attacker dropped to the ground before Castiel could even process what was happening. The second man met a similar fate. 

“We have to go back,” Castiel told the young man. “He needs help.”

“We’re not going back,” the young man told him. “Your friend is dead and I have to get you to the other side.”

“Take me back now,” Castiel snapped. 

“No can do.” 

The barge started moving faster. Castiel looked to the far bank and saw several figures pulling on the rope to move the barge. 

“Your friend isn’t the only one who is going to die today.” The young man smirked and pulled a knife from his belt. “Your horses should fetch a nice price.”

The words slipped from Castiel’s lips before he even registered what he was saying. The full force of the spell hit the man in the chest and knocked him over edge of the barge into the river. The man’s body bobbed to the surface an instant later. He grunted in annoyance when he saw the pole clutched in the man’s hand as the current swept his body away.

The barge lurched violently. Castiel saw the men hauling on it faster and he was rapidly approaching the far bank. He looked back to see how Dean was faring. The shadows were lengthening, but he could see that the knight was still standing, but all of his attackers were not. Several of the men had pulled back to a safer distance. They had lost the element of surprise and had discovered their prey wasn't going to roll up and die for them.

Turning back to the bank, Castiel saw there were four men pulling on the ropes. He could see they all had weapons and one of them had a crossbow near his feet. They did not look like the type of men to be happy by default, and he doubted that throwing their friend overboard would help their mood. They weren’t shouting at him, but he wasn’t expecting a warm reception.

The man with the crossbow stepped away as his companions pulled the barge onto the bank. He pointed the crossbow at Castiel. “Step off and get on your knees,” he ordered. 

Castiel carefully stepped off the barge and onto more solid ground. He glanced at the men in front of him and finished the spell he had been holding. He raced though the last gesture as he flung himself to the mud. The man managed to pull the trigger before the spell engulfed him. The bolt sailed harmlessly over head to land in the water. The men joined Castiel in the mud. 

Castiel stood up and looked at the four men asleep in the mud. His spell would keep them asleep for days. He wasn’t sure if he wanted them dead yet, he wanted Dean’s input on that first. But he knew he didn’t want them waking up anytime soon. He was angry at their trap and that they had fallen into it. He kicked the man closest to him in the ribs before looking around. There might have been more of them.

Once he was satisfied these were the only bandits on this side of the river Castiel tried to see Dean. The sun had set far enough that he could barely make out the other side of the river. He didn’t hear any fighting and hoped that it meant the knight was okay. 

He climbed back onto the barge to see if he could find a way to pull it across the river using the rope. He swore when he found the frayed end of a rope. The crossbow bolt had sliced through it before hitting the water. The barge was stuck on this side of the river and Dean was stuck on the other. He didn’t know any magic that would help here. Any attempt to get back to Dean was going to have to wait until morning. 

******

Despite his occupation, Dean didn’t like to kill. He wouldn’t shy away from it, but he didn’t like doing it. He had met knights that revelled in battle and lost themselves in slaughter. He looked down on them, even if they were fighting for a righteous cause. Many men came to fight with him when the king had given the order to exact retribution on the knight that had tried to steal Winchester lands. Dean went into battle again, but did it out of duty and honour. Some of the men at his side had done it for enjoyment. He distanced himself from them when he could. 

He cleaned his blade on the shirt of one of the bandits who had attacked him. They were not skilled combatants and had depended on numbers and surprise to lead them to victory. It hadn’t been enough against a fully armoured knight. Four of the bandits had died before the rest turned tail and ran. Dean did not want to be on this side of the river tonight if they regained the courage. 

It was getting dark and he didn’t think he could depend on the barge to come back now. He hoped Cas would be okay on his own on the other side of the river. He shook his head. Why wouldn’t he? He was a wizard after all. He might not be flashy with his magic, but he must know some spells that would keep him safe. Dean still wanted to get to the other side of the river. He didn’t want to leave the wizard alone all night. 

Dean sighed, if the barge wasn’t going to come back he was just going to have to cross the river by himself. There wasn’t enough light to find a place to ford the river, but he might find something that could help him deal with his armour. He had fallen into a pond once with a chain shirt while in training. He instructor had dove in after him and pulled him out. If the man hadn’t done that Dean would have drown for sure. He had sunk like a rock. And that was with just a shirt. Swimming in full armour wasn’t an option. 

A few minutes of searching around the dock turned up a small skiff. It was too small to hold Dean, but would fit his armour. He thought he could push it ahead of him as he swam. He suspected the current picked up toward the middle of the river, but he was a strong swimmer now. His tumble into the pond taught him the merits of knowing how to swim.

Dean stripped off his armour and piled everything else into the skiff. He cringed as he stepped into the water. It wasn’t all that cold, but there was a slight breeze that made his wet skin break out in goosebumps After a few deep breathes he pushed himself off and began swimming for the other shore. He was confident he could reach it before the sun had completely vanished from the sky.

He had been wrong. It was full dark by the time he pulled his soggy ass out of the river. He pulled the skiff behind him onto the bank and collapsed down for a moment to catch his breath. Dean was a strong swimmer, but he had underestimated the current. It had taken a lot of effort to make it to the other bank. For a little while he wasn’t sure he would make it. He knew he hadn’t read a story about a hero getting sick while on a quest, but he wasn’t sure about drowning. He didn’t recall a specific story, but maybe there were cautionary tales about false heroes. Those who set out on a quest who were never destined to reach the end. Dean didn’t want to die a false hero. He didn’t want to have it end in a river. He wanted to succeed so he could make sure Sammy was set for life. And, if he was being honest, he wanted to see Cas again. The wizard was growing on him and he didn’t want to leave the crusty, morning hating man alone in the world. He wasn’t sure which of the thoughts got him to the other side, but eventually the mushy banks met his feet and he crawled up onto the edge of the river to rest.

Dean wasn’t sure how long he lay in the reeds, but he eventually hauled himself up and gathered up his armour. He had wrapped it in his cloak and decided that it made a good enough sack to carry it. He was too wet to put it on anyway. He made his way to the road and trudged in the direction he though the barge might have landed. 

Fortune must have been looking favourably on him. It only took a few minutes for him to spot the flickering of a fire up the road. He hoped it was Cas and the horses and not more bandits. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with more stupidity tonight. The temperature was dropping and he was still wet. Setting the fire as his goal, Dean marched forward. He ignored the chills of the night and just focused on the warmth that fire would provide. 

The fire was further away than he had anticipated and Dean’s teeth were chattering by the time he drew close to the ring of light. He saw two horses and a lone figure huddled near the small fire. He sighed in relief as he stepped into the light and made his way toward the heat.

Castiel stood as he came into view and was visibly relieved. “Good you’re safe. I thought I was going to wait until morning to find out what happened to you.”   
He wasn’t sure why, but Dean was surprised at the wizard’s concern. Surprised and pleased. “I fought them off,” he told the Cas. “I didn’t want to wait around for them to come back so I swam over to this side.”

“You did what?” Castiel snapped. The wizard looked him up and down and rushed to his pack. “Out of those clothes right now.” He pulled a blanket from his pack and came at Dean with it like he planned on smothering him.

“I’m fine,” Dean tried to reassure him. It made no difference. Within short order Dean was wrapped in a blanket and stripped down to his small cloth. Cas stared at him for a long moment. The wizard wrapped him in the blanket and then turned away. Dean was sure the other man was blushing. He knew he was.

“You should take off the rest too,” Cas told him. He was carefully laying out Dean’s clothes around the fire to dry. He held out his hand toward Dean but refused to make eye contact. “You’ll catch cold if you stay in those wet things.”

“I’m going to get your blanket all wet,” Dean told him. In response Cas just made a one handed clapping gesture. “Alright.” He peeled off his small cloth and hugged the blanket around his naked body. He didn’t give the fabric to Cas and instead laid it near the fire himself.

“Are you hurt?” Cas asked.

“Not even a scratch,” Dean assured him. “They ran off before they could do any real damage. What about you?”

“I’m fine,” Cas said. “They’re going to be sleeping for a few days and probably wake up with a huge headache, but I’m fine.”

“Got anything to eat?” Dean asked. He was hungry, but he was mostly trying to distract from the fact he was naked across from Cas. He was still reeling from the speed the wizard stripped him and bundled him up. The concern made him feel special and he wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about that.

Cas smiled and held up the embroidered bag. “Always.” He reached in and pulled out a whole meat pie.


	7. Chapter 7

Every day since they had started this quest, Dean woke first. He had always been an early riser and growing up was often halfway through his morning meal before any of his family left their beds. This morning he decided to enjoy the predawn light while still bundled under his blanket. As he snuggled down to enjoy a few more minutes of the warmth he remembered he was still naked under his blanket and that it wasn’t his blanket.

Dean’s clothes had not fully dried by the time they were ready to turn in for the night. Cas had threatened him with dire magical consequences if he even thought about trying to put them on until they were fully dry. Dean had chuckled and wanted to know what these dire consequences would be. Cas only narrowed his eyes and only said “feathers”. He would not elaborate no matter how much Dean pleaded.

The wizard in question was curled up and snoring softly. He was using Dean’s blanket. The knight had convinced him to use it because Cas refused to take his own blanket back. In the early morning light Cas slept peacefully and Dean regretted that he was going to have to wake him. Cas looked comfortable right now and Dean wasn’t looking forward to the grumpy man that would emerge from those blankets. 

Deciding that he couldn’t stay there forever, Dean sat up and wrapped the blanket around himself. Afterward he was happy he’d taken his time that morning. If he had still been laying down, he wouldn’t have caught the movement. 

Nestled up against Cas was a red fox and her two cubs. The mother was awake and it was her twitching ears that had caught Dean’s notice. He had never seen a fox this close. Bobby had told him that they were common when he was a boy, but bored nobles had used the animal as an excuse to ride all over the countryside. These hunts drove most of the foxes away and Dean had only seen a few growing up. Always from a distance. This one watched him warily, but didn’t run. 

They stared at each other until the sun was fully up. She yawned widely and stretched. The cubs at her side stirred and blinked sleepily in the morning light. They froze when they saw Dean. Their mother stood and nudged them to move. The three of them walked into the bushes without looking back.

He just sat there for awhile looking at the place where they’d disappeared into the forest. He wasn’t sure if he would tell Cas about this or not, but he did know that he was going to move a little slower when he was getting up in the morning.

Keeping the blanket pinched around his waist, Dean walked over to the firepit to claim his clothes. They had dried over night and smelt a little of campfire smoke and river water. But not too badly. He dressed himself quickly. He folded Cas’ blanket put it in his pack next to his spare set of clean clothes. He was sure the wizard wouldn’t want it back as soon as he woke up.

By the time Cas was fully awake the sky had begun to cloud over. Dean didn’t think it was going to rain yet, but the day was not as bright as it had been when he had his staring contest with the fox. He imagined the bandits they had left behind would find the late morning air a little chilly if they’d been awake enough to notice anything at all. They probably also wouldn’t feel great after laying down in the mud for so long. 

Dean had been reluctant to leave them behind. They had obviously been robbing and murdering travelers, but he couldn’t take them along on his quest. He knew handing them over to any authority figure would have resulted in their deaths, which he felt fine about. These men had killed an unknown amount of people and deserved to hang. At the same time, it felt wrong to kill them in their sleep. Cas had been no help at all. 

“It is too early to have an existential crisis,” the cranky wizard had snapped. “Toss them in the river for all I care.”

In the end Dean reached a compromise with practicality and his code of honour. He tossed their weapons in the river and left the bandits face up in the mud. He would tell the first constable, sheriff or road warden he came across about the bandits. Being so near the barge dock would make it easier to find them. Cas had told him that the spell would keep the bandits asleep for several days, so they had time to find someone to deal with the situation.

Dean was so engrossed with the story Cas was telling that he almost rode right into the wagon. Fortunately, Baby had been paying attention and swerved at the last moment when she realized her rider had no idea what was in front of him. She snorted her annoyance.

He patted her neck. “Sorry about that. Should have kept my eyes on the road.”

The wagon he’d almost rode into was the type that would double as a home and a place of business. Its wooden awning was up and underneath it was a table with two empty chairs. An older woman sat behind the table and watched them. Her curly hair was cropped close to her head. Her clothes were simple, neat and impeccably clean. 

“You boys are right on time,” she said. “Have a seat. I have to be heading on soon if I want to be able to see my granddaughter.”

“We’re kind of busy ourselves,” Dean said. “You could just go see your granddaughter now.”

She sighed in annoyance. “I doesn’t work that way. I do this then I go see my granddaughter.”

“Do what,” Cas asked.

“Talk to you two. Tell you a few things, some of which you don’t want to hear, and then I go down that road.” The woman pointed in the direction Dean and Cas had come. “It’s safer now that you’ve deal with those ruffians.”

Dean blinked in surprise. “How did you know that? Who are you?”

“I’m a woman who is about to lose her temper Dean Winchester,” the woman told him. “Now get off your horses, sit your butts down and listen to what I have to tell you. I'm not getting a kink in my neck talking to you.” 

He complied, more out of shock than anything else. Cas followed his lead and sat in the chair next to him.

“My name is Missouri,” the woman said. She held up her hand. “This will go faster if we don’t waste time with pointless exchanges.” She pointed at Dean. “You are Sir Dean Winchester. Son of John and Mary Winchester and a knight on quest. And you are Castiel Novak. Son of Charles and Naomi Novak and wizard along to assist with his quest. I know who you are and where you are going.” Missouri paused for a moment before continuing. “As I said, my name is Missouri and I see things. Sometimes it’s important, sometimes not. What I’ve seen for you is important.”

“You’re a seer?” Cas asked. “An honest seer?”

“Damn right I am,” Missouri said with pride. “Better by far than most you’ll meet and I’m the best you’ll meet on this journey. Actually, I’m the only one you’ll meet on this journey.”

“How good is that exactly?” Cas asked. 

Dean knew that most fortune tellers were charlatans and just out to steal people’s money. They said whatever they thought people wanted to hear. 

“I’m good enough to know who your brother is and why you won’t say his name anymore,” she said with an edge to her voice. “But that’s the past and that’s easy to know. Just listen to a story or read a book.” She placed a small bag on the table. “The future? Knowing that takes real skill.”

Dean was curious, Cas appeared doubtful. “Alright, I’ll bite. How much will this cost us?”

“I don’t want your money,” Missouri told him as she upended the bag over the table and multiple small black stones fell out. She turned them all face down and swept them around to mix them up. “I’ll tell you what I see and then we’ll both go on our ways. The only cost to any of us is our time. And it won’t take much of that if you both actually listen.”

Dean shrugged and looked at Cas. The wizard still seemed doubtful, but shrugged back. Dean’s curiosity hadn’t lessened. If Missouri was the real deal than listening to her would be prudent. Besides, he wasn’t obliged to follow whatever advice she gave.

Missouri had Dean select three stones and flip them over. He didn’t recognize the symbols etched into the black stone. 

“Your journey is going to slow down shortly, but also speed up. You’ll want to keep your shield and sword at the ready.”

“That is..,” Dean started.

“Incredibly vague,” Cas finished for him. 

“Of course it’s vague,” she told him. “If I told him specifically what was going to happen he wouldn’t do it and you wouldn’t allow it.” She scooped up the stones and tossed them back in the bag. “I don’t know why I bothered with that, I knew it wouldn’t work. I guess I just like the ritual of casting the stones.”

“Maybe we should just go,” Dean said. “You have people to see.”

“Oh just sit down.” She tucked the bag back onto her belt. “No theatrics. You’ll get some info, and some of it will be vague enough to make sure you do what you need to do. Okay?” 

“I guess,” Dean said.

“Good. You will need to keep your sword and shield ready,” she repeated. “You’re going to need it later today and without it you’ll end up dead. After that you’ll have an encounter with the elves. Sort of.”

“That’s slightly less vague,” Dean said.

Missouri ignored him and looked at Cas. “At that point you’ll have a little chat with your brother.” 

Dean noticed Cas’ face darken.

“Not that one,” she snapped. “Honestly, just listen. If you talk with your brother than things will likely work out fine. Depends on a few factors that I’m not going into. If you do what you’re suppose to your trip will drastically speed up.”

“Anything else?” 

“Just one. You’ll know you are heading the right way when you find the field where the dead still walk.” She shuddered. “Poor bastards. You’ll talk with your brother there too.”

“I’m glad we didn’t pay for this,” Cas said a little sourly. “You didn’t even mention the dragon.”

“Dragon?” Missouri asked. “What dragon?” She glanced between the two for a moment before opening the bag with the stones and removing two. She looked at them and pulled a third. 

“What do you see?” Dean asked.

She started to laugh. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise. You boys are going to be mad about that.” She returned to the stones to her pouch. “Just do what comes natural to you Winchester. I’m not worried about you if you keep your shield at hand.”

“But you are worried about my performance,” Cas said.

“A bit. Mostly because you’re going to have to do things you don’t want to. Or at least, think you don’t want to. It really will work out for you if you do though.” She put her hand on his. “Family is rough, but they can be worth it.”

“Right” Cas said. “I’m going to go get on my horse now.”

“I’ve told you everything I’m going to anyway.” Missouri stood and started taking her chair inside the wagon. Dean offered to help and she waved him off. “You have an appointment to keep. Have your shield ready. Actually, just wear the thing, it’ll be easier that way.”

*******

Castiel was grouchy after they left the seer behind. He wanted to ignore what the woman had told them, but didn’t think it would be a good idea. She had told them what she did for a reason. Real seers were rare, far more so then even wizards. He’d only met one other, a young woman that came to see his father when Castiel was a child. His parents had taken her into his father’s study for hours. His mother would never reveal what the woman had told them. All his father would say is that it had concerned their futures. The woman had told his parents something about each of their children. 

After a particularly long-winded begging session Castiel’s father had lost his temper. “If she wanted you to know she would have told you herself. Now stop asking.”

“But it’s about me,” Castiel had whined. 

“And she chose not to tell you,” his father had countered. “Seers know their business, leave them to it.”

And that was the end of it. Castiel hadn’t met another seer until today. Wizards did a great deal with magic, but rarely tried to peek into the future. The few who did usually went mad. The only ones who could divine the future safely were seers and they usually kept quiet about what they saw.

“What do you think she meant about the dragon?” Dean asked.

Dean’s question startled Castiel out of his thoughts. 

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “We’ll have to wait and see I guess. She won’t tell us.”

“Think she’s legit?”

“I think she is,” Castiel said. “She didn’t ask for money and I’ve only heard of real seers doing that. She didn’t really ask anything of us, so I guess we can choose to follow it if we want to.”

“Carrying a shield isn’t that big of a deal for me,” Dean raised his left arm to show the heavy leather stretched over a wooden frame. He’d also donned his armour after they left Missouri’s wagon.

“I hope you don’t have to wear it for long,” Castiel said. “It looks heavy.”

Dean shrugged. “Better than dead.”

As they chatted the road began to curve north. It kept that way for a half mile before splitting. The road continued north, but there was a well worn path that headed westward.

“She didn’t say anything about a fork in the road,” Dean said. “Keep going west?”

“That’s the way the dragon flew, so it makes sense.”

They turned off the road and continued along the path. It was wide enough to allow both of them to ride comfortably abreast. The trees hugged closer, but any of the lower hanging branches were easy enough to avoid. 

He wasn’t sure exactly when it started, but when he noticed it, he reigned in his horse and motioned for Dean to do the same.

“It’s quite Dean. No birds.”

“This might be what Missouri was warning about.” Dean dismounted. “Maybe we should walk for a bit. There isn’t a lot of room to fight if I have to do it from horseback.”

Dean helped Castiel down from his horse. He wasn’t sure why, he’d gotten off his horse multiple times since he’d started on this journey with Dean. He didn’t complain though, or even ask why. He just accepted the offered hand and had to force himself to let go. To keep his hands busy he took Baby’s reigns as well as his own horses. 

The attack came fast. He barely heard the footfalls of the beast before it burst out of the trees and onto the path. It roared and leapt at Castiel. He just stood there and watched the teeth grow larger.

Dean was there. The knight pushed him backward with his right hand and held up the shield to block the attack. Castiel stumbled backward, but managed to keep his feet. 

“Get back,” Dean told him. “I’ve got this.”

Castiel retreated with the horses to a safe distance and whispered to them to keep them calm. He lashed their reins to a tree in case they decided to bolt. 

Dean had pulled his sword and was threatening the creature while keeping his shield up. 

Now that he had some distance, he could see the beast better. It was big, almost the size of a horse and just ugly. From a distance it might be mistaken for a large cat, but up close there was no mistaking it. It was covered in red fur with leathery wings tucked along its back. Castiel didn’t think the wings would allow it to fly, but maybe to glide. A thin tail ended in nasty looking barbs, but the worse thing about the creature was its face. Its face looked almost human, but twisted with bestial features. There were far too many teeth in its jaws and it gave the creature a horrible grinning appearance. 

“It’s a manticore,” he called out to Dean. He’d never seen one before, but knew them from pictures in books. 

“Thanks,” Dean called back. He dodged a paw swipe and lashed out with his sword. The blow didn’t land properly and instead slid along the thick fur. “Any suggestions?”

Castiel wracked his brain to recall everything he could about manticores. They would eat almost anything they caught, but were rumoured to prefer human flesh. Manticores were ambush predators and hunted alone. They were said to be clever, but there were few firsthand accounts of encounters with a manticore. Castiel’s heart sunk when he remembered why. 

“Its tail is venomous. Don’t let it hit you.”

Dean only grunted in response. The manticore had lunged forward and Dean barely brought his shield up in time to keep the teeth away from him. He jabbed with his sword and sunk the blade into the creature’s shoulder. 

The manticore pulled back and watched Dean warily for a moment. It lunged again, but dodged to the side at the last second. It lashed its paw out and flung dirt toward the knight’s face. Dean flinched backward in surprise. The manticore knocked him to the ground and was on him before Castiel could even blink. It bit down on Dean’s arm and tore the shield away. Dean was blindly slashing with his sword, but couldn’t land a solid blow.

Dean cried out in pain as the manticore sunk its teeth into his shoulder. Castiel saw the creature’s tail start to rise up and started to panic when the first stab bounced off Dean’s chest plate. It wouldn’t take long for those barbs to find flesh and inject their venom into.

Whatever Missouri said, that shield wasn’t going to save Dean’s life now. Castiel couldn’t fight this thing without magic and a sleep spell wouldn’t work on something that big. He was too far away for the spell he used to knock the man into the river to be of any use, but maybe he could adapt it. He looked around frantically and saw some rocks on the other side of the path and grabbed one. He held it tightly in his fist while casting the spell. The rock shudder in his grasp and he cast the spell again to boost its strength. When he released it the rock shot away from him and slammed into the manticore’s side. Castiel heard the crunch of breaking bone.  
The creature howled in pain and rage. It stopped its attack on Dean, but kept the man pinned to the ground. The creature’s gaze flicked over Castiel and it snarled. Its tail rose and the end seemed to grow larger. 

Castiel ran the few steps to the treeline and threw himself behind the first tree he saw. He heard the dull thuds of the barbs hitting the tree. As he caught his breath he muttered about how none of the books mentioned that manticores could throw their barbs. Of course, writing that down meant surviving the attack in the first place. 

He snatched up a fallen branch and prepared to cast the spell again. The rocks were out of reach, but this might pierce the thick hide and hurt it enough that it would focus all of its attention on him instead of Dean. 

A quick peek from behind the tree showed the manticore had turned its back toward Castiel and was focusing on Dean. Its tail was raised for another strike, but it had paused. Dean wasn’t slashing blindly anymore, Castiel hoped it meant his vision had returned. 

He stepped out from behind the tree and cast the spell rapidly three times before he let go of the branch. He wanted to cast it a fourth time just to make sure, but the branch was already vibrating and he was worried it would break if he did. 

The branch sunk deep into the manticore’s already injured chest. The creature whipped its head toward Castiel and took a step off of Dean and in his direction. It opened its mouth and Castiel thought it was going to howl again, but only a whimper came out. A whimper followed by blood. The creature slumped forward and collapsed to the ground. 

Castiel ran around the creature at a distance in case this was a rouse. When he saw Dean he realized what had happened. The knight had sunk his sword to the hilt in the creature’s body. The angle of the sword would have put it through several vital organs. 

With some effort Castiel managed to pull Dean out from under the manticore’s lower body. The man’s armour was in tatters and he was covered in blood. He hoped most of it was from the manticore. He wasn’t sure if the creature’s venom had been injected or not, but the teeth alone had done a lot of damage to Dean’s shoulder. 

“We need to get you somewhere safe.”

“We’re in the middle of a forest.” Dean sounded tired and Castiel didn’t like it. “Where are we going to find safe?”

“We keep going,” Castiel decided. “Missouri said you were going to meet elves and a bird told me there are settlements around here. If we keep going, maybe we’ll find the elves. They can help.” 

Dean leaned heavily on Castiel as he walked the knight back to the horses. Baby was alarmed, but reasonable and allowed him to get the knight into the saddle. Castiel’s horse was in full panic and was refusing to let him climb into the saddle. The horse was not listening to him and he was worried that it would break free and run off.

Castiel huffed in anger, he didn’t have time for this. Dean needed to get to safety soon, wherever that was, and then he’d need to have his wounds treated. Hopefully by someone who knew what they were doing. He did not have time to deal with a horse panicking.   
He hadn’t cast the spell since he learned it years before, but he was glad his tutors insisted he learn it. The words came back to him like he cast the spell daily. The magic washed over his horse and the animal calmed. Castiel didn’t like forcing his will on living creatures, but he didn’t have the time to feel guilty about it right now. The horse was calm and that’s what was needed right now.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been fun writing this, but I think this is my favourite chapter so far. I hope you guys are enjoying it.

Dean barely noticed anything about the forest around him as they travelled. Part of him was screaming that this was a bad idea. They had just been attacked and vigilance was called for. He pushed that voice aside. His shoulder hurt. Actually, his whole body hurt, like he’d been rolled down a hill in a barrel. But it was his shoulder that hurt the worst. It throbbed as he rode along, but felt like it was on fire if he tried to move the shoulder at all. He quickly decided that he wasn’t going to do that. 

His decision meant that he had to ask Cas to not only pull his sword out of the manticore, but sheathe it for him as well. Cas had picked up some of the larger pieces of armour that the manticore had torn off and tossed them into his saddlebag. They would need a damn good blacksmith to put it back together. If it was even possible. Dean had his doubts. His shield was useless, mangled almost beyond recognition. The wizard hadn’t even asked if Dean wanted it and just stepped over it. Missouri had been right about his shield though. If he hadn’t been wearing it he would never have survived the initial attack, let alone lived lone enough to kill the manticore. 

He chuckled to himself quietly when he thought of Cas pulling the sword out of the beast. The wizard had struggled with it. It was lodged deep in the manticore’s body. When it had turned away from him to look toward Cas Dean had taken his only chance and shoved the sword in as deeply as he could. Given how hard it was to pull out, he guessed it must have gotten stuck on a few things. The struggle was almost comical and Dean had wanted to laugh, but he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t laugh at Cas. Cas had been great. Dean should tell him that. Maybe when they got to the elves. He was tired and wanted to make sure he said it right. And his shoulder was distracting him. Now wasn’t the time to tell the great wizard just how great he was.

The sound of Baby’s footsteps changed and Dean pulled himself upright to look around more carefully. The tiny voice in his head screaming about vigilance seemed happy with this idea. His shoulder was not as happy. He hissed in pain and blinked away the spots that appeared in his vision. 

Worked stone now covered the path. Here and there dirt was visible and several stones jutted up at awkward angles, but it was clear this had once been a paved road. He carefully turned to look into the forest and saw pillars of stone collapsed among the trees. Now that he was looking he could see partially collapsed buildings and a few lone archways. Whatever used to live here had lost a battle with the trees. The forest had moved in and reclaimed whatever was built here.

The trees began to thin out and they soon rode into a clearing. It wasn’t very big, but the frames of several stone buildings stood clustered together. In the late afternoon light he could see that the roofs had all caved in. They would keep the wind off them, but wouldn’t keep them dry if it rained overnight.

“Come on,” Cas said. He touched Dean’s uninjured shoulder to get his attention. 

Dean liked the touch. It made him feel warm and fuzzy. Made him feel safe too. Wasn’t sure why. They were in the middle of nowhere and he probably needed someone to tend to these wounds. He wondered if the Sister from the tourney would come out this far. She knew what she was doing. A bit rough, but seemed like a stand up kind of lady. Real salt of the earth type.

“Dean,” Cas said loudly. “I said we need to move.”

Dean focused in on Cas’s voice. He had a nice voice. It was no wonder the birds like to talk to him. Who wouldn’t like to talk to him. He could listen to the man talk all day. He should tell him that. Later though. First he had to tell him how great he was. He blinked and shook his head, the jolt of pain from his shoulder helped him focus.

“What?”

“There’s a building over there with an intact roof.” Cas pointed it out at the back of the clearing nestled among the trees. They headed in that direction.

Dean thought there was something off with Cas. He seemed distracted. Worried even. Dean wasn’t sure what the wizard had to be worried about. He was a powerful wizard. Lots of magic. What could bother him that couldn’t be fixed by magic. Dean added that to the list of things he needed to tell Cas later.

At least he shoulder wasn’t bothering him as much now. It still hurt, but the pain had receded some. Now that the pain was less he could focus on other things. Like how thirsty he was. He really needed something to drink. Maybe Cas had something to drink, he should ask. But he didn’t want to bother the man. He looked concerned about something. Dean didn’t like how the lines creased his face. Cas’ face was pretty and shouldn’t have lines like that on it. But whatever it was must be important because only important matters would concern a wizard. 

The building Cas led them up to was far bigger than it had seemed from across the clearing. The distance and fading light had played with his perception. Its open archway would easily allow a man on horseback to ride right through. The doors were long gone, which was good because he didn’t feel like knocking right now. 

“Hello,” he called out. "May we come in?"

“I don’t think anyone’s at home,” Cas said. “I think we can just take shelter here.”

“But I was told I’d see the elves. I’ve always wanted to see elves.” Dean began riding Baby inside. “Ever since I was a little kid. Bobby told me stories about them. Said they were good peoples.”

“Right,” Cas said. “Let’s get you inside and laying down.”

Dean let the wizard help him down from Baby and leaned on him a bit to retain his balance. His shoulder barely hurt at all. He was just thirsty. He was about to ask   
Cas for some water when the wizard slid his arm around Dean’s back. It felt nice. Brought that warm and safe feeling back. He bet the man gave great hugs. When this was done he should hug Cas. He should probably ask first. It might go over better if he did. It was like kissing, you shouldn’t just steal one. If you misread signals people got upset. He should ask Cas if he could kiss him. Maybe after the hug. Cas was looking at him funny. Did he say that out loud?

Cas didn’t say anything as he led Dean over to a wall. It was dim inside, but enough evening light filtered in that he could see well enough. The building was just as large inside as it looked outside. It was relatively clear of debris. The roof was still intact and the forest hadn’t tried to punch its way through the walls. He watched Cas walk back to the horses and peered into the building. He wasn’t sure what it was for. Maybe some kind of meeting hall. It did look like the hall his father had entertained large groups of people in. The pillars looked wide enough to fit the long tables father’s guests would eat at. 

He wondered what his parents would have thought of Cas. The wizard thing probably wouldn’t have been an issue, they both had consulted with magicians while he was growing up. He remembered herring a few things about the Novak family. Not much, but they were an old family and that would have appealed to his mother’s sense of decorum. Dean was sure his parents would have approved of, if not out right like Cas. Sammy definitely would like Cas. This realization made Dean happy. He was smiling brightly when Cas came back over. 

Cas gave him a worried look and set the items he was carrying down. It was too dark for Dean to see exactly what they were. They must be important though, Cas wouldn’t be carrying them if they weren’t. He hoped one of them was water.

“You’re back,” he said. “I wasn’t worried though. I knew you’d come back.”

“I was just a few feet away Dean,” Cas said. “I won’t leave you.”

“That’s good,” Dean said. “That would make me sad. Do you have any water? I meant to ask, but you were busy with super wizardy stuff.”

The worried look crossed Cas’ face again. Dean didn’t like it. He decided not to bother Cas for any more water. He had other things to worry about than getting Dean a drink. 

Cas took a flask from the pile of items he’d brought over and poured some into a cup for Dean. He held the cup for Dean so the knight wouldn’t have to use his shoulder. It was thoughtful and Dean tried to tell him as much, but Cas just shushed him and told him to drink. He took a few more sips before Cas took the cup away. He whined a bit, but Cas didn’t notice. Dean was about to ask for more when he remembered his promise to himself. Cas had super wizard stuff to worry about. 

“I’m going to help you lay down Dean,” Cas said. “I need to get a better look at your injuries.”

“Lay me away,” Dean said cheerfully.

*******

Castiel was worried. He had been since the manticore’s attack. The creature had mauled Dean pretty badly. He didn’t the creature had managed to hit Dean with its barbed tail, but he wasn’t sure. He hoped not. When he was getting on his horse he had seen the barbs driven into the tree he had hidden behind. The bark had begun to blacken. 

The ride away from the battle to whatever this ruin was had not alleviated his concerns at all. Dean was clearly more injured than he had initially thought. He knew that they needed to leave the area, it wasn’t safe to stay, but he didn’t like forcing Dean to move. The knight had been quiet during the ride. Castiel looked over constantly to make sure he was still in the saddle. It almost looked like he was asleep, but he would perk up and look around occasionally. Sometimes he would mutter something that Castiel couldn’t quite hear.

He was so focused on Dean that he almost didn’t notice the ruins begin to appear around them. They would provide some shelter, but any hope of someone living there to help them evaporated when he saw the first building. The entire building looked like it had been carved from one solid piece of rock. Or more likely magically constructed out of one rock. The elves liked working with natural materials and thought cutting things up was savage. Why cut down a tree to make a chair when you could just shape the tree into a chair? 

The building was beautiful in the evening light, but it had no roof. It wouldn’t provide any shelter if it rained. Castiel wasn’t a healer, but he knew that Dean wouldn’t tolerate getting wet. The other buildings nearby were all the same. Crumbling walls and long rotten doors.   
He saw the large building from across the clearing and offered up a prayer to whatever spirits might be listening that it looked solid. He could get Dean inside and set about trying to deal with whatever injuries he had. 

Despite his concern, Castiel had to smile when Dean called out a greeting at the archway. It was clear no one was here, but it would have been rude to enter unannounced. The knight didn’t seem to like being rude. 

Once inside he helped Dean off his horse and felt his stomach clench at how unsteady the man was on his feet. If he hadn’t been holding on to him Dean would have fallen. The man didn’t seem to notice and just smiled. He mumbled something and then blurted out “I should ask to kiss you. But after the hug.”  
Castiel wasn’t sure how to respond to that so he didn’t. He felt a little giddy at the prospect of kissing Dean, but also a great deal of concern over the fact the man said it at all. He hadn’t known Dean long, but he didn’t strike Castiel as the type of man who would just say something like that. It reenforced his concern about how injured Dean was.

He helped the man lay down and went back to his horse to get whatever he thought might be useful. It wasn’t much. He knelt next to Dean and piled his meager supplies next to the knight. 

“You’re back,” Dean said. “I wasn’t worried though. I knew you’d come back.”

“I was just a few feet away Dean,” he said. “I won’t leave you.” 

“That’s good,” Dean replied. “That would make me sad. Do you have any water? I meant to ask, but you were busy with super wizardy stuff.”

Castiel blinked. What super wizardy stuff was Dean talking about? Also, him not coming back would make Dean sad? Castiel pushed the thoughts aside and poured some water for Dean. He helped the man drink a little before setting it aside.

“I’m going to lay you down Dean,” Castiel said. “I need to get a better look at your injuries.”

“Lay me away,” the knight had cheerfully responded.

Castiel eased the man into a lying position and balled up his coat for a pillow. The sun was setting and he was going to need more light to see what he was dealing with. He rummaged through the supplies he’d brought over and picked up a spoon. He had no idea why he’d brought it with him, but it would suit his purposes.   
He whispered the spell and breathed onto the spoon. It began to glow and soon bathed Dean in enough light for Castiel to realize he was in over his head. The knight flinched at the brightness and groaned. He stuck the spoon between two stones nearby and set about removing Dean’s armour.

Once the armour and the tattered remains of Dean’s tunic Castiel could see how bad things were. The shoulder looked like the worst injury. It had been gnawed down and he could see bone. The flesh around the bite was starting to blacken and tendrils of black were fanning out around the wound. An oddly sweet smell drifted off the wound. It reminded him of apples. There were dozens of claw marks across Dean’s chest, arms and legs. His left arm had also been bitten several times. Castiel noted the same blackening effect around each of the bites and the smell of apples. Dean looked glassy with fever and was mumbling quietly. 

He leaned back on his heels. There was nothing he could do to fix this. He didn’t even know where to begin. But he did know someone who might be able to help. His brother Raphael was a talented healer and Castiel had seen him work near miracles before. If anyone was able to keep Dean alive it would be him. 

“I’ll be right back,” he told the Dean.

Dean grabbed his hand and pulled it to his lips. He planted a small kiss there and slumped back. The movement seemed to exhaust him. 

Castiel felt Dean’s lips even after the man had let his hand go. It had been a nice gesture, but all it did was make him wonder what a real kiss would feel like. And that was a distracting thought right now. He needed to talk with Raphael. 

It had been a long time since he had contacted family. Gabe was the one he spoke with most and usually his brother was the one to reach out. Of course, with Gabe it was often an invitation to get into trouble, even if it seemed perfectly innocent at first. Raphael was a different matter, he was more serious. Not as serious as Michael, who Castiel didn’t think had a relaxed bone in his entire body. But he was just as driven as the eldest Novak child. Raphael had excelled in the healing arts from a very young age and many healers had come to him to learn. It was something his mother was extremely proud of. Something she brought up a lot.   
The calling spell wasn’t complex, especially with family, but it required a calmness that Castiel was having trouble finding. It took him far longer than he’d have liked to make contact. 

“Brother?” Raphael’s surprised voice sounded in Castiel’s head. “What’s wrong? Is it mother?”

Castiel had always appreciated Raphael’s directness. His brother had never been one for pleasantries. If it warranted a conversation it was important enough to skip pointless words. 

“No, mother is fine,” Castiel assured him. “I think. It’s about Dean. He’s injured.”

“Who is Dean?” Raphael asked. “Never mind, if you’re contacting me he has to be important. What happened?”

Castiel quickly laid out the events of the last few hours. He kept a few details like Dean’s offer to kiss him and then the actual kiss on his hand to himself. He figured that Raphael didn’t need to know those details. He also didn’t’ disclose the way Dean kept making his insides flop. 

“Manticores are very dangerous,” Raphael told him. “Did it inject any venom?”

“I didn’t see any barbs,” Castiel said. “I checked carefully for them. I know the tail is venomous.”

Raphael sighed. “So is it’s bite. Did it bite him?”

“Yes, several times.”

“What colour are the wounds? Black or green?”

“The skin around the bites are black with some tendrils leading away. And the wounds smell like apples.”

“Black is better than green.” Raphael went silent in Castiel’s head for a moment. “Your friend is almost certain to die Cassie.”  
Cassie had been a childhood nickname that Gabe had started. All of his brothers had called him that when he was growing up. Gabe was the only one who used it regularly. Hearing it from Raphael made his stomach drop.

“Can’t you do anything?”

“You need a healer.”

“That’s why I contacted you,” Castiel snapped. “Fix him.”

“I’m too far away to get there in time. You need a healer near by. Any healer. Contact me again when you find one. I’ll talk them through the medicine and you through the magic. If you get him to the healer fast enough we might be able to save him. You have a little time. At least until the wounds start turning green. He’s going to start to hallucinate soon too.” 

“I’m in the middle of a forest right now. Where the hell am I suppose to find a healer?”

“I don’t know Cassie, but I believe in you. Find one. I’ll prepare what I can on my end.”

Raphael cut the contact on his end. Castiel blinked in the darkness. The sun had fully set and the hall they had set up camp in was totally dark. It shouldn’t be dark.   
He had left light near Dean.

The spoon was gone and so was Dean.

******

Dean followed the sounds of running water. He could hear it just ahead of him and if he could get to it he could drink. He was proud of himself. If he drank this water he wouldn’t have to bother Cas. He bet Cas would like that. Maybe even enough to let him kiss him. That would be nice.

The hall was big. Bigger than he had expected. It would have been too dark to see, but Cas was clever. He had left Dean a magic spoon. He frowned down at the spoon. Spoons didn’t feature in the epics he had read and heard. It was always a magic staff that provided light or a necklace or a crown. Even a sword. Dean’s sword wasn’t glowing though. It just hung by his side. At least he could see though. He probably wouldn’t mention the spoon to anyone else. Except Cas had made it and that made it special. Maybe he would tell someone about the spoon. 

The sound of water grew louder and he found his way into a room off the main hall. It was just as big as the main hall except instead of plain pillars it had pillars carved with people. Big people. Way bigger than he was, like almost ten feet tall. They looked pretty though. He guessed they were elves. Nobles. All men on one side and all women on the other side. Dressed in finery and holding weapons. Dean thought it was odd for statues to be have their hands on sheathed weapons, but they were elves, so maybe this was normal. He should ask Cas about that. Cas would know, he knew stuff and he was just great.

The running water was coming from a pedestal at the end of the hall. A delicate crystal cup sat in the centre. Maybe the cup was magic. It could hold lots of water then. Maybe even enough to quench his thirst. 

Dean walked up to the pedestal and picked up the cup. As he did so he heard Cas’s voice yelling at him.

“Don’t touch that.”

“Hey Cas,” Dean waved. “I found some water so I don’t have to bother you.”

*****

Castiel could have screamed in frustration. He had found Dean, but not before the man could get into trouble. He had wondered into this room and picked up a beautiful crystal cup. He didn’t need to be a wizard to know it was magic. Anything that looked that good after all this time had to be enchanted. He didn’t know what it did, but didn’t intend to find out by drinking from it. Or allowing Dean to drink from it.

He ran past the pillars and up to the knight. Castiel grabbed his wrist and forced him to set the glass back down.

“I don’t know what that does,” he said. “But maybe we should leave it alone.”

“But I’m thirsty,” Dean complained. “And I don’t want to bother you.”

“You’re not bothering me,” Castiel assured him. “You’ve never bothered me.”

“Promise?”

Dean looked so relieved that it made Castiel melt a little. “I promise. Now let’s get you back to your blankets.”

Castiel heard the grating of stone against stone. In the light of the spoon he could see one of the statues turn toward them and step of its base. It was carved to look like an elven woman. The grinding sound occurred again when it pulled a long blade free of a sheath carved into its side. The statue advanced toward them in an unhurried by steady pace.

This was even worse than the panicking horse. Elven magic was at work here. Animating a statue wasn’t high level magic, but leaving one in wait as a trap? That took more skill than Castiel had. He could probably outrun it. It was moving steadily, but wasn’t fast. He’d have to leave Dean behind and that wasn’t an option. The man was in no condition to run.

He was still trying to figure out what to do when Dean shoved him aside. He stumbled backward and knocked the glass off the pedestal. It fell to the floor, but didn’t shatter like he expected. Instead it bounced a few times and rolled to his foot. 

Dean had drawn his sword and was running toward the statue. He was moving faster than Castiel would have expected. 

“Stay back Cas,” he called. “I’ll save you.”

The statue swung its blade down to strike Dean. The knight brought his sword up to block. The two blades met for a moment before Dean’s shattered. The statue knocked Dean to the ground as his sword fell around him. It went to swing its blade again.

“STOP!”

Castiel felt magic flow through him as he yelled at the statue. It wasn’t exactly a spell exactly, it was more raw than that. The statue responded though. It halted in mid-swing and stayed there.

He ran over to Dean and found that the fall had knocked him unconscious. His breathing was rapid and shallow. Castiel needed to find a healer fast. But to do that he would have to leave Dean and the man had already gotten into enough trouble. He couldn’t be left unattended.

Castiel glared at the statute. He felt the magic flow again. “Guard him from harm until I return.”

The statue righted itself and took a step toward Dean. It turned to face the way they had come and held its blade at the ready. The sound of grinding stone echoed through the room. More of the statues left their bases and moved to stand near Dean. Six statues now stood around the fallen knight guarding him.

“Didn’t intend to do that,” Castiel thought to himself. But it would probably work. He could deal with that later. Right now he needed to find a healer. At night. In the middle of a forest.

Castiel ran out through the hall and into the clearing. The moon was just peeking over the trees. He could hear the nighttime forest coming to life. Despite what people though the forest was as much alive during the night as it was during the day. There were creatures he could ask for help.

A bat swooped low over head in search of insect. Castiel called out to it and asked if it knew of any healers. It didn’t. Nor did the owl he asked. Or the skunk that had just woken up. Asking every creature he saw would take too long.

Castiel took a slow breath and pulled at the magic he had felt before. He wasn’t used to channeling raw magic. Spells were safer, but you needed to know the   
specific spell for whatever you wanted to do. He didn’t even know if there was a spell for what he wanted. He pulled on the magic and let it spread out from him. 

“I need a healer. Find me a healer.”

He felt the magic ripple away from him and disappear into the trees. 

Nothing happened. He heard the chirping of the crickets and rustling of leaves in the wind.

He was about to repeat the process when he heard it. 

“A healer. He needs a healer.”

Just a single voice. It sounded like an owl. But it was joined by another just like it and then another. Soon a chorus of voices rang through the forest. Not just the owls but other nighttime creatures had begun the call. 

Seconds ran by and then minutes. Castiel was almost beside himself when he heard it. 

“I know a healer. Bring him here.”


	9. Chapter 9

The first thing Dean became aware of was the throbbing headache he had. The second thing was how loud the man and woman were talking. It was far too loud. He cracked open his eyes and winced at the how bright the light was. He closed his eyes and the talking seemed to get louder, though he couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying. Neither voice sounded familiar. 

He worked up the courage to open his eyes. The light was a bit more tolerable now that he was expecting it. Doing the best he could to ignore the headache he tried to sit up to look around. A wave of nausea and fatigue made him reconsider. He lay back down and decided to just look around without sitting up. 

He was in a small room with light and a soft breeze came in through an open window. A wooden door was set into one wall. The voices came from the other side. He was tucked under a quilt on a narrow bed. Bundles of flowers and other plants were tied in bundles and hung upside down around the room to dry. He very carefully turned his head to see a small table next to the bed with a basin on it. Dean had absolutely no idea where he was. No idea where Cas was either. 

Dean tried to remember what had happened. He remembered fighting the manticore and, with Cas’ help, managing to survive the attack. Baby carried him to….somewhere and the rest was all hazy. He knew that Cas came with him, but the only thing he remembered was that Cas had soft hands and he had no idea how he knew that.

The voices continued on the other side of the door, but didn’t grow louder. Dean decided that he needed to figure out what was going on and where Cas was. He took a deep breath and shouted.

Well, he wanted to shout. What came out was more of a hoarse croak. He barely heard it himself and the voices continued. He tried again and had a bit more success. The voices stopped and he heard walking.

A moment later the door opened and a woman stepped through. Dean couldn’t place her age, but she wasn’t young anymore. Her deep red hair was piled on her head and artfully swept away from her face. She wore a plain dark green dress. 

“Ah, you’re awake,” she said in the deep voice. 

Dean was glad he was too tired to respond. He hadn’t expected the male sounding voice to be attached to a woman. The voice and face did not match up at all.

“Let’s take a look at that shoulder,” the woman said briskly. 

She walked over to the bed and pulled down the quilt. She produced a pair of scissors and snipped through the cloth wrapped around Dean’s shoulder. A pungent   
earthy smell filled the room before the breeze cleared it away. 

“Ow,” Dean cried out when she prodded the edges of the wound. The woman didn’t acknowledge his protests and kept poking. Dean was also to tired to even try to stop her. She spent a few minutes poking him while making various satisfied grunts under her breath. 

“It’ll need to be cleaned and the poultice applied again. We can back off on the frequency of changes to just twice a day.” 

Dean starred at her while she washed her hands in the basin. What the hell was she talking about?

“What is going on? Who are you? Where am I? Where is Cas?”

The woman sighed in annoyance. “Castiel is fine, he’s in the yard. Talking to bees I think. You should be more worried about yourself. Manticore venom is almost always fatal. You are now among the precious few that have lived to tell the tale of being bitten by such a creature. The fifth one to survive to the best of my knowledge. Most people simply succumb to the venom and die. Or are eaten. It’s hard to tell what happened first when all you have is a mangled corpse.”

“What?”

“I have rounds to do,” the woman said in response. “I’ll check in on you later.”

The woman staggered and caught herself on the doorframe.

“Bloody wizards,” she said. Her voice was different now. Definitely a feminine voice and Dean thought it was the same one as he’d heard earlier. “No respect for a working girl at all.”

“Um… what the hell was that?”

“Don’t you worry your pretty head about that,” she told him. “Raphael can be a right bastard, but he is an amazing healer. Has the hands of an angel he does. And the personality of a festering sheep.”

“Who is Raphael and who are you and why did your voice change. Where is Cas?” None of this was making any sense and Dean was starting to feel a little panicked even though he was exhausted.

“You can call me Rowena,” the woman told him. “Your friend is out in my yard. He brought you here so his brother and I could deal with that nasty poison you got yourself mixed up with.”

“You’ve healed me?” Dean asked. 

“Healing, dearie. It takes time. You’re on the mend, but you’re not going to be up and dancing today.”

“Can I see Cas?” Dean really wanted to see the wizard.

“Of course dear,” Rowena said. “Right after I dress that shoulder."

She disappeared through the door and came a few minutes later with a bowl, a jug and some cloth. Rowena sat next to him on the bed and cut the bandages around his arm off. She rinsed the wounds with water from the jug and pressed a foul-smelling goop from the bowl against them before wrapping everything with the cloth. The process didn’t take long, but it hurt a great deal. Eventually she seemed satisfied and packed up her supplies.

“What is that stuff?” Dean asked. “It smells awful.”

“You’ll be happier if you don’t know the specifics,” Rowena told him. “Now, I’ll let you visit with your friend while I wash these up.”

“Thank you,” Dean said. Rowena seemed nicer than the Sister he’d dealt with at the tourney, but he knew being polite was the way to go here. It was a bad idea to be rude to the person trying to heal you.

“Not a problem at all,” she smiled. “I’ll send your wizard right in.”

She slipped back through the door and Dean was glad she took the bowl with its awful smelling contents with her. His stomach had settled some now that he wasn’t trying to move, but whatever was in that bowl was not helping it stay settled.

A few moments after she left Cas came in. He paused at the door and looked unsure of himself. Dean could see the worried lines across the man’s face and it bothered him. He didn’t think those lines should be there. The phrase ‘super wizardy stuff’ floated across his mind and he wasn’t sure what that even meant.

“Hey,” he said. “I don’t know what happened, but I’m pretty sure you saved my life. Thanks.”

Cas blushed and rubbed at his neck. “You saved mine first. The manticore would have killed me if you hadn’t leapt in front of it. Which was stupid by the way.”

“Couldn’t let my wizard get mauled,” Dean said softly. He patted the spot that Rowena had just vacated.

“How are you feeling?” Cas asked as he sat down. 

“I’ve been better,” Dean said. “I have a headache and my stomach is threatening revolt, but my shoulder doesn’t hurt too much now that Rowena isn’t poking at it.” He grabbed Cas’s hand, “I think I’m better now.”

Cas didn’t pull away, but his blush darkened. “I’m glad. You had me worried. Raphael wasn’t sure you’d survive.”

“Who is he?” Dean asked. “Rowena mentioned him, but I think there’s magic involved and I don’t understand it at all.”

Cas laughed quietly and it sounded honest. Dean liked the laugh. He wanted to hear more of it.

“Raphael is my brother,” Cas said. “He’s one of the best healers alive, if not the best. I asked him to help you. He and Rowena have been working together.”

“Where is he? I’ve met Rowena, but haven’t met him yet.”

“He’s a long way away,” Cas explained. “I think you’ve already met him, sort of. It’s complicated, but he’s using magic to sort of see through Rowena’s eyes and give her directions as to what to do for you. Though she seems to be an accomplished healer herself. They saved your life.”

“They helped,” Dean clarified. “So did you.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“I bet you were the one who got me here,” Dean said. “They couldn’t have done anything if you hadn’t done that.” He ran his thumb over the wizards knuckles.   
“Thank you. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.”

“You wouldn’t have been attacked if it weren’t for my brother sending you on this quest.”

“Yeah, but I accepted. I wonder if Rowena accepts quests in lieu of payment. I don’t exactly have a lot of coin to give her.”

Cas shook his head. “Of course you’re worrying about that. But try not to. The bill has been paid in full.”

“How much?” Dean asked. “I need to pay you back.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Cas said. “Raphael and I sorted it out.”

“I’ll pay you back,” Dean promised. He didn’t know how, but it felt wrong to have Cas pay for his own stupidity. 

“Just get better.” Cas said. “You should get some rest. I’ll be outside if you need me.”

Dean sighed and settled back into the bed and quickly drifted off. His last conscious thought was that Cas had sounded almost pleading when he asked Dean to get better.

****

Castiel was careful to close the door quietly as to not disturb Dean. He didn’t think any amount of noise would wake the knight, but he didn’t want to risk it. He carefully walked away from the door into the kitchen area of Rowena’s cottage. A stew was simmering over the fire and it smelled fantastic. The food bag Castiel and Dean had been eating out of did food well, but nothing warm. He was looking forward to eating something hot.

The woman was standing over a bucket of water and cleaning out the bowl she had used to dress Dean’s wounds. She glanced over her shoulder when he came closer.

“How is the wee-dear?”

“Sleeping now I think,” Castiel said. “He was coherent the entire time.”

“Raphael told you he would hallucinate,” she reminded him. “The confusion running its course is a good thing. It generally means recovery is a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’. I’m glad that part of the recovery is over, those ravings were just awful. I hope he sleeps through the night tonight.”

“I do too.”

“Regardless,” she continued. “Both of you will be here for at least a few more days. Which brings me to our agreement.” She turned and dried her hands on a towel. “Have you contacted your family yet?”

“Raphael and I have already agreed, as you know,” Castiel told her. “Gabe agrees as well. I haven’t contacted mother yet.”

“What about your other brother?”

“If you must have his agreement, than Raphael or Gabe will contact him.”

“I am being more than fair on this Castiel,” Rowen said firmly. “I want every member of your immediate family to agree to my terms. It’s not much to ask for given that you are living in my home, eating my food and your brother is using my head as his own whenever he wants without the slightest consideration for me. All I ask for in return is the word of your family.”

When he had first met Rowena Castiel had been willing to accept whatever deal she made to save Dean’s life. He hadn’t questioned the specifics at the time and promised to do what she asked. He hadn’t questioned the specifics over the last few days either. Dean had alternated between being near death from his injuries or being near death with his injuries and delirium. There had been brief moments of lucidity, or at least cooperation, when they could feed the man some water and thin broths. Most of the time Dean had been unconscious or else screaming about things only he could see. All Castiel could do was sit nearby and hope for a moment of lucidity. They had not been frequent enough.

Now that Dean’s delirium seemed to have past, he hoped, he had some time to question. He didn’t understand why Rowena had been so insistent that all of his family agree. She clearly had enough power to protect herself. The enchantment on the door was as complex, if not more complex, than anything he’d seen his parents perform. The door opened into the room Dean was in if you pushed it inward. If you pulled it outward it opened to the room Castiel was staying in. If you slid the handle across the door it revealed Rowena’s room if you pushed in and her study if you pulled outward. That level of magic required power and control.

“I don’t understand why you need our protection at all,” Castiel said. “You’re a powerful witch in your own right, why do you need us?”

“Because I’m just that, a witch,” Rowena said. “You are a wizard.”

“Why does that make a difference?”

“Is this the first time you’ve left your ivory tower?” Rowena asked. 

“What?”

“Do you know why almost every story with a witch in it the witch is wicked?”

“There aren’t a lot of good witches out there,” Castiel said. He honestly hadn’t thought much about it.

“Did you ever think about why they’re all wicked?” Rowena asked. She had moved over to the kettle and gave the stew a stir. She leaned over to smell it and frowned slightly. A few crushed leaves went into the pot and she smelled it again before nodding to herself. 

“I’ll just tell you,” she said. “The reason there are so few good witches in these stories is that the good ones end up dead. My father was a witch. He kept his talents hidden for the most part, not particularly skilled, but was a decent healer. Almost as good as your brother. Our neighbour had asked for some help with his barn and the silly fool slipped and broke his leg. Damn near tore it off from the way mother told the story. My father healed that man’s leg. Fixed him right up. Our neighbour marched into town on that newly healed leg and reported it to the magistrate. My father was stoned to death for helping a man in need. That is why I need your family Castiel. You and yours can protect me.”

“Surely you have enough magic to keep you safe.”

“And when would it end? I can deal with the pitchforks and torches, but I’d have to flee. And they’d follow. How long could I keep that up? I will not give up another home because I was born poor and do not have the wealth to protect me that your family does. The price of my help is your family protecting me if I need it. I will not renegotiate that.”

“I hadn’t considered that,” Castiel admitted.

“The wealthy rarely care for what the peasantry gets up to,” Rowena said. “So long as we pay our taxes and don’t revolt we aren’t even worth notice.”

“I’ll try to contact mother in the morning,” Castiel promised. “I think she’ll be sympathetic to your reasoning. I can’t promise my brother, but Gabe can be persuasive when he wants to be.”

Rowena waved him away. “The stew will be ready in a few hours and your knight shining armour should be awake by then. Go play in the garden or take a walk. Off you go poppet.”

Castiel had spent a lot of time in Rowena’s garden. It was huge and took up most of the yard space. There were neat rows upon neat rows of vegetables. Herbs were planted in a more haphazard manner. But everything was growing healthily. It would have passed for a completely normal garden if it weren’t for the apple trees. She had two. One was in full bloom. The other one, planted right next to the first one, was laden with fruit. Some of the branches were so full of apples they were brushing the ground. Only a witch or wizard would have trees like that. Mother had a rose bush that was always in bloom. The red was a striking contrast to the white snow in the winter. 

Rowena had agreed to let the horses graze in the part of the yard that didn’t have a garden attached to it, but had lectured both at lengths about eating from the garden. Castiel had offered to translate for her, but she had waved him off. Apparently she hadn’t wanted him to down play her threats. She had explained to them in frank detail what would happen if so much as the top of a carrot was missing. Both horses seemed to have taken the warnings to heart and had carefully avoided the garden’s edges. It had been tense at first, but the witch had agreed to let them have whatever apples fell to the ground. She had then referred them to her earlier threats if they decided to knock apples to the ground to get more.

Seeing the horses reminded Castiel about Dean’s armour and sword. The armour had looked ruined to him, but maybe it was salvageable. He wasn’t a blacksmith so maybe a professional could do something with it. He was positive the sword was a lost cause though, he hadn’t even bothered to pick up the pieces when he retrieved Dean from the hall. It hadn’t quite turned to dust when the statue hit it, but the pieces were small enough to almost count. 

The destroyed sword bothered Castiel. Dean could probably make due without armour. He would be in danger in combat, but if he was careful he would probably be okay. The lack of a sword was a problem. That is something he would need. Fortunately Castiel could do something about that problem.

Dean would likely be asleep for the next few hours anyway and Rowena had all but tossed him out of the house. He glanced up at the sky and counted the hours until sunset. There should be enough time for him to get there and back.

Even during the early afternoon the hall was dark. Castiel felt a touch foolish holding the spoon aloft to cast enough light to see clearly. He regrated enchanting it, but it was practical if silly. There was no point in enchanting something else to shed light when the spoon still worked.   
The statues remained where he had left them after he had them carry Dean to Rowena’s cottage. He thought he had told them to return to their bases on the pillars, but apparently he hadn’t. They just stood in the middle of the hall. He chose one at random and walked up to it. He wasn’t sure if it was the same one that had initially attacked Dean or not. Or the one that Dean had tried to save him from.

“Give me your blade,” he commanded.

The statue pulled its blade from its sheath and handed it to him. The weapon was far lighter than he had expected, but seemed strong. Fine elven runes ran the length of the blade. It was a long knife in the hands of the statue, but to him, and hopefully Dean, it would function like a sword. There was an aura of magic about the weapon, but he couldn’t tell if it was the blade itself or residual from being held so long by the animate statue. The aura faded once he slid it into the sheath he brought. It might be the weapon itself that was enchanted. He could figure that out later.

“All of you, return to your places. Stay there until you are needed again.”

He waited until they had all returned to their pillars. The sound of the grinding stone caused by their movement set his teeth on edge. These were functional guardians, even practical ones, but he wouldn’t have used them to guard anything in his home. 

A glint of light caught his eye. The spoon was reflecting off the cup that still lay on the floor next to the pedestal. He had completely forgotten about that. He picked it up and examined it in the light. It was a beautiful piece of work. It was mostly clear, but had thin threads of blue running through the crystal. It almost looked like he was holding solid water. It was delicate, but very strong. There was no sign of any damage from the fall it suffered when Castiel knocked it over.

He didn’t know what it did or even why it was here. It looked like something someone would travel great distances to find. Possibly to heal a beloved cleric or provide water for a drought parched kingdom. This cup looked like the end goal of a quest. If he took it than whoever needed it wouldn’t have it. Dean had stressed the importance of following certain rules while on a quest. Castiel hadn’t been sent to find this cup and he shouldn’t steal it from someone who had been sent. He would have felt awful if Dean had come questing for it only to find the pedestal empty. 

Castiel carefully set the glass on the pedestal and walked away. He had what he had come for anyway.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to get this up the other day, but work was brutal and I was entirely too tired last night to finish it. Hope you enjoy it.

Inaction was not something Dean took to naturally. Even when forced upon him he would try to resist it. He wasn’t opposed to down time, or taking the time to plan something properly. He knew the value of being prepared. Just sitting around drove him crazy. Or laying around really. He was stuck in this bed until Raphael or Rowena decided that he could get out. The worst part for Dean was that he understood it. He didn’t like it at all, but he understood it.

Yesterday Raphael had deemed him okay to sit at the side of the bed. At the time he couldn’t fathom why Raphael thought this was an accomplishment. He sat there and looked at the healer, or rather at Rowena who the healer was speaking through. The whole idea of the wizard being thousands of miles away yet talking to him made his head hurt. 

“You’re doing well,” Raphael had said. “Time to lay back down.”

“I want to go for a walk.”

“Absolutely not. You aren’t ready yet. Maybe I’ll consider allowing that tomorrow.”

Dean rankled at the ‘allow’ part of that statement. Without arguing he stood and looked down at the healer in Rowena’s eyes. “Today,” he smirked.  
Rowena told him later that he kept the smirk on his face all the way to the floor. He hadn’t even taken a step before his legs gave out. 

“The sick never have any idea what is good for them,” Raphael had said calmly. “It’s why I never consult them on treatments.” 

Rowena walked to the door and called out for Cas to come in. Dean didn’t want to have Cas see him like this. Not crumpled on the floor with his bare ass hanging out. But Cas got to see it. He was too tired to even hide under the sheets.

Cas and Raphael had gotten him back into bed. Or Cas and Rowena had, he tried not to think about it too much.

“You haven’t reinjured the shoulder with your bravado,” Raphael had said. “You’ve been in a sick bed for almost two weeks. You’re lucky you didn’t reopen anything. I’ll speak with you this evening. I’ll decided tomorrow if you can be trusted to sit up again.” 

Rowena had staggered and he knew that the wizard had left again. 

Rowena was about as happy as Raphael had been, but was far snarkier about it. There was no confusion about how she felt. Dean sunk into the bed and let her lecture him at length. He was too tried to resist. And too embarrassed. 

Cas had just rubbed Dean’s uninjured shoulder while Rowena lectured him. After she stomped out he stayed with Dean for a little while longer. He didn’t bring up Dean’s naked trip to the floor or the wrestling to get him back into bed. 

Dean couldn’t even begin to thank him for that.

He decided to at least try to be a good patient. It wasn’t easy and he hated it, but he did try. By listening and paying attention to them he learned a fair bit about his caregivers.

Raphael was a very talented healer. A raging ass-hat, but an amazing healer. The wizard swooped in at all hours to check in on him. He didn’t think he was above dressing wounds and performing more menial tasks like assisting Dean to eat in the early days. You wouldn’t know it form his personality, but Dean found that Raphael was a very caring man. His treatments worked and Dean did find himself gaining strength day by day. After his trip to the floor though, he decided that he would wait for permission to engage in more activity. 

Rowena was also very talented when it came to healing. She was also a witch, which had concerned Dean greatly at first. Witches did not have good reputations. Cas calmed him down with reassurance. Raphael had bluntly told him that Dean couldn’t afford any more stupidity and that antagonizing his caregivers was not a good idea. For her part, Rowena didn’t seem to hold his assumptions about her against him. She carried out the tasks that Raphael assigned her regarding his care with the same efficiency that she had before he knew about her being a witch.

The witch wove her magic with the herbs she used to speed Dean’s recovery. Everything was done at the instruction of Raphael, but he felt that she would have been able to do the bulk of the healing without outside instruction. He found that both her mind and her sense of humour were sharp. And he found himself being cut by both more than once. She could be kind when it suited her, but Dean quickly found out that she controlled the honey pot. Medicines could be sweetened at her discretion.

He also learned more about Cas, and that almost made his forced stay in bed worthwhile. Almost. 

The day after his trip to the floor, Cas shared a story that helped Dean feel a little better about his humiliation the day before.

“I was a late child,” Cas had started as he got comfortable on the edge of Dean’s bed.. “Gabe is almost eight years older than me. He made a lot of effort to bond with me as a child. Though I think some of it was to have someone to blame his pranks on.”

“I was 12 when Sammy was born,” Dean shared. “Still teased him like an older brother should though.”

Cas laughed at that. “My other brothers didn’t tease me, but Gabe always did. I’m still not sure if he’s laughing with or at me. Anyway, my parents weren’t quite sure what to do with such a young child so I was left to my own devices a lot. I had tutors and the like, but as I got older I started to have questions they either wouldn’t answer or that I didn’t want to ask them.”

“What kind of questions,” Dean asked. 

“Well,” Cas said as he started to blush. “Most of them where about what was going on in this general area,” he waved a hand vaguely over his groin. “I certainly wasn’t going to my parents about that. I thought about Gabe but wasn’t sure he’d give me the right answers. In the end I snuck into Raphael’s room and stole some of his anatomy books.”

Dean tried his best not to laugh, and he succeeded, but he couldn’t keep the grin from his face. “You stole your brother’s books to look at naked pictures?”

Cas’ blush deepened to more of a scarlet colour. “Yes,” he finally said. “Raphael noticed the books and eventually I was found out. I’m not sure what was worse. Mother’s lecture about theft and how I should have just gone to her about these questions, Raphael’s lecture about human anatomy or my aunt Amara’s laughter. For the next few years my aunt and Gabe gave me anatomy books as gifts. My aunt’s were always on how to draw the naked form. Gabe’s were just naked pictures.”

Dean couldn’t help himself and laughed at that. Cas joined him and the two were shortly breathless. 

“Thanks,” Dean had told him as the wizard stood to leave for the night. 

“We all do embarrassing stuff from time to time,” Cas had said. He reached the door and stopped before leaving. “But you have nothing to worry about, you have a very nice butt.”

Dean just gaped at the closing door.

******

Castiel was pleased that Dean was recovering so quickly. Raphael had not painted a bright picture for someone suffering from manticore venom. It was almost always a death sentence and an unpleasant one at that. Now that Dean had woken free of confusion, Raphael had assured him that it was only a matter of time before full recovery. The venom was neutralized, but its effects would linger. The knight would be weak, but if he followed medical orders he would be back on his feet shortly. He didn’t mention it specifically, but Castiel thought that his brother was referring to Dean’s ill-fated attempt to walk.

He had been very worried when he’d walked into the room to see Dean crumpled on the floor. And was relieved to hear that no further injuries had been sustained during the fall. He also had to admit, privately of course, that seeing Dean’s backside had been a pleasant surprise. The knight had wrapped himself rather tightly after his swim in the river two weeks before. He hadn’t meant to peek, but he was disappointed he hadn’t seen anything. And he would never tell Dean that.

He sat out in the afternoon sun listening to the sounds of the garden. Birds singing and insects humming. It was a pleasant day. The only other sound was Baby running up and down the road. His horse required far less exercise than Dean’s horse. She got irritable if she didn’t get to run. Initially Castiel had gone riding with her, but she kept begging to go again and again. She was worried about Dean too, and that translated into more energy she needed to burn off. If he was with her than he couldn’t be around for Dean, so he decided to set some boundaries. He showed her how far she could run and told her she could go herself as long as she came back each time. She was a smart horse and agreed to his terms. 

Rowena had found it amusing to watch her open and close the gate herself each time she went for a run. Baby would delicately grab the latch with her teeth and pull on it to open or close the gate. She never left the gate open. She had told Castiel that it would be rude to leave Rowena’s yard open like that. 

Castiel heard Baby’s hoof beats before he saw her round the corner and trot up to the gate. She opened and closed it like always before walking around the yard a few times to cool down. She was treating herself to an apple when he heard the shouting.

A few moments later a pudgy man came panting up to the gate. He was dressed in well crafted, but dusty travelling clothes. Not extravagant, but definitely wealthy. Castiel thought he might be a merchant. A fairly successful one if his clothing was any indication. He looked vaguely familiar, but Castiel couldn’t remember where he had seen him before.

“Can I help you?” Castiel asked.

“Yes,” the man snapped between wheezes. “You can give me my horse back.”

“Your what?”

“My. Horse.” The man repeated. He pointed at Baby who was currently rolling around on the grass. “She started acting weird and ran off.”

“She’s not your horse,” Castiel said. “She’s my friend’s horse.”

“No, she’s mine,” the man insisted. “The witch her charmed her and will do terrible things to her. I don’t intend to let my beloved animal end up in some potion to summon storms to wreck ships. Give her back.”

Castiel blinked at him. “What ships? It take weeks to get to the sea from here. Why would anyone summon a storm to wreck a ship hundreds of miles away?”  
“I don’t know,” the man said. The redness from his exertion was being replaced by a redness of irritation. “Witches are crazy folks and I just want my horse back.”

“She isn’t your horse,” Castiel said. 

“Yes she is. Give her back or I’ll go get the sheriff,” the man threatened. “I’ll bring the whole town if I need to and burn this place to the ground.”

Castiel was starting to get annoyed. “It’s two days to the town,” he informed the man. “And even if you bring the sheriff here that horse still isn’t yours.”

“It’ll be my word against a known witch’s word,” the man smirked. “No one will believe her or you.”

The smirk is what did it. Castiel remembered where he knew the man from. He was a merchant and had dealt with his mother and aunt before. His mother had refused to deal with him after he tried to sell her some goods that had been stolen from his aunt. He hadn’t seen the man in a few years, but was certain he was the same merchant.

“Actually,” Castiel said darkly. “I believe he would be interested in the word of a Novak over that of a thieving merchant.”

“A Novak?” The man blanched and stepped back from the gate. 

“Yes. And one that would be very interested in talking to any sheriff you brought to this place. And I know my family would be very curious about any harm that  
should befall this home or its occupants.”

“Fine! Keep your stupid horse,” the man yelled. “It’s probably diseased anyway.” 

“You should leave,” Castiel told him. “Now!”

The man turned back the way he came muttering profanity under his breath. 

When he turned back he saw Rowena leaning against the doorframe. “That is exactly why I wanted your family’s protection,” she told him. “He isn’t the first to come here demanding things and he wont the last.”

“The fact he came here at all is nonsense,” Castiel grumbled. “I’ll talk with my aunt as well, she might be willing to offer her help.”

********

“Check.”

Dean looked at the board and sighed. It was Check now, but in two moves it would be Checkmate and there wasn’t anything he could do to stop it. He gave Cas the two moves so he could have the satisfaction. After his loss they reset the board.

Rowena had suggested the chessboard after Dean complained about not being allowed out of bed. Well, she suggested it after she made a snide comment about falling. The witch provided him with a beautiful hand-carved set. He offered to play a game with her and she laughed at him. 

“Not a chance dearie. You’re far to sick for the stakes I normally play for.” 

Dean decided that he didn’t want her to elaborate and asked Cas instead. The wizard agreed, but said that it had been years since he’d played. Which was about the same time since Dean himself had played. They turned out to be pretty evenly matched. he games made the evenings pass faster. Dean was able to stay awake later than he had been before. His body wasn’t shutting him down as quickly as it had been a few days before. The games also provided an easy path for conversation. They chatted about various topics ranging from growing up, to books they’d read to family. After a few evenings of this Dean noticed that Cas would skirt around two topics; his father and his brother. He was curious. He didn't want to push but his curiosity was growing.

“Think we’ll be on the road again soon?,” he started. “Like by next week?”

Cas moved his knight and took a pawn Dean had forgotten about. “Maybe. You’re stronger, but it’ll be Raphael who makes that call. He’s not above hunting down patients who try to take off.” He glanced over at Dean. “You’re not thinking of running off are you?”

“No,” Dean said frowning at the board. “I just wanted to know where we’d be on the solstice.”

“Any particular reason?”

“It’s the anniversary of my parent’s death,” he said quietly. “Well, my mother’s death really.”

“I don’t think I understand,” Cas said slowly.

“My mother died after Sammy was born. A fever took her.” Dean continued to stare at the board. “She was gone so fast that the healer hadn’t even gotten the message to come.” He moved his bishop and captured the knight that Cas had just let go of. “It destroyed my father. We buried him eight years later, but that was the day he died.”

“I’m sorry.”

Dean offered a weak smile in return. “He just gave up after that. Didn’t raise me and Sam. If it hadn’t been for Bobby I don’t know how we’d have survived.” 

“It sounds like you were lucky to have Bobby,” Cas said. He moved his rook and threaten the bishop to stop Dean from doing any more damage.

“We were. I was,” Dean said. “He was always on my ass to make sure I did my training. Made sure I was able to qualify for knighthood. It’s hereditary to an extent, but you still have to earn it.”

“Bet you make him proud.” Cas grimaced as Dean slid his own rook across the board and picked off the queen. “Is that why you came to the tourney?” He moved a pawn unexpectedly. Dean was thought it might be bait, but couldn’t see the trap yet.

“No,” Dean replied. “I came for Sammy. I need a patron so he’ll get the schooling he needs.” Dean advanced his own pawn. Three more squares and it would reach the far side.

“Don’t you have enough wealth to support him?” Cas asked. “That was incredibly rude. I’m sorry.”

Dean waved it off. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Still, it was rude,” Cas insisted. He gave up on threatening the bishop and captured it instead.

“We used to. But when mother died father turned to drink. And then stopped paying attention to everything else.” He advanced the pawn. Just two more squares. “The king was willing to keep the vultures at bay because father had been a staunch ally for years. His son though? His son didn’t care and the vultures swooped in and just started picking off pieces of our land. Now the only thing left is the ancestral home and a few fields. Barely enough to keep the taxes paid.” 

“So the dragon really threw your plans for a loop,” Cas said. He moved his rook to take Dean’s advancing pawn next turn. He cursed when Dean moved his other bishop up. If he moved the rook the bishop would put his king in check.

“I was hoping some noble would notice me and take me on board. Then I could get Sammy into a library where he belongs. Kid is only ten and he’s already smarter than me.”

“He’s probably as proud of you as you are of him,” Cas said. He’d given up on Dean’s pawn and moved the pawn Dean had thought was bait. It still might be.

“I’d like to think so,” Dean said and moved the pawn one square away from the far end of the board. “He’s family. I can’t turn my back on him.”

“I wish I could say the same,” Cas said. He moved a knight to threaten Dean’s bishop. “My brothers and I aren’t all that close. Except Gabe and I. Michael left home when I was quite young and is always on some campaign or another. I was surprised he found a wife to marry. Raphael travels a lot too, but settled down to open a hospital and a school. I doubt he’ll ever marry. To busy with his work. Gabe is, well, Gabe. Always a prankster. Love him, but sometimes I need distance from him too.”

Dean didn’t look up when he asked his next question. “Do you have any other siblings?” He moved his pawn to the edge of the board. “I’ll take another queen.”

“Of course you will,” Cas muttered. Dean didn’t think he was going to answer his question at first. He just stared at the board. “I have one other brother, Lucifer. We don’t talk.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stir up bad memories.”

“You didn’t, I think of him a lot,” Cas said. “I just don’t talk to him. He abandoned my father while he was dying. I can’t forgive him for that. The rest of my family has, but I haven’t.” Cas took Dean’s bishop with his knight. “He got involved with demonology and necromancy.” He glanced up to see some confusion on Dean’s face. “He tracks with demons and the dead. Not pleasant magic. He was too busy with that to be with our father as he died.”

“That’s,” Dean started. “I’m sorry Cas.”

“It’s in the past,” Cas said. “I still think about it, but I can’t change it.”

Both of them stared at the board for awhile without moving any more pieces or saying anything. The silence pushed slightly into the uncomfortable territory. Cas  
reached over and took Dean’s original queen. He moved it to capture his rook. Coupled with the new queen there was nowhere for Cas’s king to move.

“Checkmate”

“Another game?” Dean asked. 

“I think I’d like to turn in for the night.”

Dean watched him leave and hoped he hadn’t hurt his friend with his curiosity.

*******

Castiel sat on the bench he’d crafted for Rowena near her garden. Her garden had been more practical than anything else and the only place to sit had been on the ground. Castiel had noticed it and began immediately and began coaxing some old tree roots into a bench. 

His thoughts drifted back to the conversation from the night before. He wasn’t upset Dean had asked about his family and his brothers. He thought about them all the time. At the same time he didn’t like talking about Lucifer. Didn’t like saying his name. He did his best to pretend the man didn’t exist, but he couldn’t banish him from his thoughts entirely. 

The conversation about Sam had reminded him of the fact that, like Dean, he loved his brother. Part of him wished he didn’t, but he did. He just didn’t like him very much. He’d go the rest of his life without speaking to him. His betrayal was too big to be ignored and forgiven. He shouldn’t have left like he did though. Dean probably thought he was mad at him for bringing up his family. He wasn’t. They had shared and learned a little more about each other. And that was worth any lingering discomfort he had about Lucifer. 

Castiel decided that he would make sure that Dean knew he wasn’t upset with him. Right now Raphael was with him. Recovery was advancing. The dressings were no longer needed and Dean had been allowed solid food for a few days now. He’d also graduated to walking around the main room of the cottage. Rowena had prudently moved anything remotely breakable to her room. Dean had stumbled a lot the first few times. But now he could navigate the room almost entirely unaided.  
He let the sounds of the garden lull him into a half doze while he waited for his brother to finish with Dean.

He was started awake a little while later when his shoulder was smacked.

“Shove over poppet,” Rowena said. “Make room for your dear knight.”

Cas blinked to clear his eyes and saw that Rowena was walking in the yard with a very proud looking Dean. The man was mostly standing on his own, only slightly holding onto the witch’s arm. Cas immediately stood to help him sit down.

Rowena relinquished her charge and waited until they were both sitting again. “You’re responsible for getting him back. No more than an hour out here.” She turned and walked back inside.

“It’s a beautiful day out,” Dean said. “It’s been so long since I’ve been outside.” The sunlight showed how pale Dean had become after his illness, but Castiel could see the redness starting to come back to his cheeks. It wouldn’t be long now before Dean was back to full health.

“It is,” Cas agreed. “Rowena picked a good spot for her home.”

Cas started when Dean touched his knee. “I’m sorry about pushing last night. I shouldn’t have.”

Cas didn’t say anything at first, but put his own hand down to stop Dean from pulling away. “I’m not mad. Not at you. I don’t like talking about my brother, but I realized that I do still love him. You talking about Sam helped me realize that. So thank you.”

They lapsed into silence again, enjoying the afternoon and each other’s company.


	11. Chapter 11

His first walk in the garden must have provided some proof of something to Raphael. Dean was allowed to get up more frequently and for longer stretches. Raphael’s visits went from three times a day down to one, usually first thing in the morning. He strongly recommended resting in the early afternoon and retiring early for the night. Dean followed his suggestions, partially because he had learned his lesson and partially because he really was tired enough to need some sleep in the early afternoon. The days ticked by slowly, but he was recovering.

He and Cas were strolling around the garden on the evening before the solstice. Dean had not been released from Raphael’s care yet, but he was hopeful to be free in the next few days.

“What do you plan to do tomorrow?” Cas asked. “For my father we each light a candle and prepare his favourite meal.”

“At home, Sam and I would go spend some time in the crypt with our parents,” Dean said. He sighed. “I can’t do that here, but I can spend some time thinking about them. Remembering who they were and not who they became.” 

A memory floated up of his father at the last public meal he ever took. He could clearly see his father as a sobbing, drunken wreck at the head of the table. He was surrounded by guests who were either visibly uncomfortable or disgusted with what they saw. Sam had stared at his plate and mechanically ate whatever was in front of him. Bobby just looked sad. Dean had been angry at the time, now he just felt pity. The meal had been to celebrate his completions of the Trials. He was eligible to take the oaths to become a knight. It was meant to be a happy time. Now he accepted that there wasn’t room in his father for anything other than grief. At the time he hated the man.

With effort Dean pushed the memory away and pulled up another memory. One from years before. Dean was young, maybe 9 or 10. It was another meal. Father sat at the head of the table with mother at his side. Dean couldn’t remember what they were celebrating, but he remembered how his father had laughed. It had echoed off the walls as he reacted to whatever story someone was telling. This was the man he was going to remember. Not the shattered man that followed.

“Do you need anything? Candles or wine or something like that?”

“A candle or two would be nice, but I can’t do what I normally do anyway.” He sighed again. “I normally dress in full armour and kneel next to them for the time I’m down there. But my armour isn’t fit to patch the whole in Rowena’s cooking pot and my sword is gone too. So they’ll have to make due with just me this year.”

“Oh, I’d forgotten all about it. I didn’t even tell you.”

“About what?”

“Stay here, I’ll be right back,” Cas said in answer and darted back through the garden.

Dean watched him go with some amusement. The wizard looked excited, but he couldn’t figure out why that would be the case. He wondered what Cas had been up to. Fortunately he didn’t have to wait long to find out. About ten minutes later Cas came running back up the path carrying something wrapped in a blanket. Dean recognized it as the blanket Cas used while on the road. 

“Sorry, that stupid door gave me trouble,” Cas apologized. “It was set to Rowena’s pantry and I couldn’t remember the right combination to get it back to the room I’m in. Took me a few tries to get it right.”

Dean smiled at him. Cas looked adorable when he was flustered. 

“Anyway. This is for you.” He thrust the bundle at Dean. 

The bundle wasn’t heavy, but it was certainly awkward to carry. He unwrapped the blanket and tossed it over his shoulder to leave a sword in a sheath in his hands. He recognized the sheath as his, but not the sword handle. He glanced up at Cas questioningly.

“I think it’ll work for you, but I’m not sure,” Cas babbled nervously. “I don’t know much about these things.”

Dean turned back to the sword and pulled it free. It was very light, far lighter than his old sword. He took a swing with it. It was better balanced as well. He ran his fingers lightly down the blade, it appeared to be made of a grey metal, but Dean thought it might be some sort of stone instead. It was made entirely of one piece, or fitted together so tightly that Dean couldn’t see the edges. It was sharp too and looked like it would hold an edge for a long time. It was clearly master level   
craftsmanship. He’d never met anyone who could make a blade like this. The symbols running down the centre of the blade suggested that magic was involved. 

“This is beautiful. Where did you get it?”

“We sort of defeated the statutes,” Cas said. “So I figured that gave us the right to their weapons.”

Dean laughed. “You defeated them. I just fell over.” 

Cas had told him all about his delirious adventures over one of their many chess games. Now that he was safe and healing the stories were funny. He bet Cas had been very worried at the time. He felt bad for worrying him like that. 

“I seem to fall over a lot,” he admitted. “I should probably talk to a healer about that.”

“I happen to know a pretty good one,” Cas said. “Want me to introduce you?”

Dean laughed. “I think I’ll stick with the ones I have now. Wouldn’t want to upset them.” He traced the symbols with his finger. “What do these mean?”

“It’s archaic elven,” Cas told him. The wizard was very close and Dean could smell the soap on his skin. “I needed mother’s help translating it. It doesn’t translate well into the common tongue, but it’s sort of a short form for the enchantments on the blade. It won’t break or dull and, unless you want to let go, it can’t be knocked from your hand.”

“Useful enchantments,” Dean mused. He’d never held an enchanted sword before. He had seen one when he was younger that would wreath itself in flames. He’d wanted to buy it, but Bobby had refused to let him. He said it was a trick done with oil and slight of hand. It didn’t matter if it was real or not, they didn’t have the money to spend anyway.

It was too much. This weapon had to be worth more than his remaining estate. Possibly more than all the Winchester lands before his father lost them. He couldn’t accept it. 

“Cas, I can’t accept this. It’s too much.”

Cas’ smile slipped and Dean felt awful for doing that. “You don’t like it?”

“It’s perfect and I would love to have it, but I can’t accept it. You’ve already done so much for me. You saved my life.” He sheathed the sword and tried to hand it back to Cas.

“After you saved mine,” Cas countered. “Twice actually.” He pushed the sword back toward Dean. “Please take it. It would mean a lot to me if you did.”

Dean hesitated and tried to think of an argument to refuse the gift, but everything fled when he looked at the earnestness in Cas’ eyes. He couldn’t refuse this, it was a gift from Cas. This wouldn’t be a Winchester heirloom. He was taking this to his grave. 

He opened his mouth to say thank you and closed it. Instead he pulled Cas into a tight hug. 

When they finally separated Cas cleared his throat. “If the stories I’ve heard are true, all the best swords have names. What will you call yours?”

Dean pulled the sword and held it up in the fading light. “I don’t know. I’m open to suggestions if you have any.”

When he was laying in bed later that evening, Dean thought that he might have held that hug a little too long. Or a lot too long. Cas hadn’t said anything and he certainly wasn’t complaining either.

******

The magic in Rowena’s home didn’t phase Castiel all that much. He had grown up surrounded by magic. Quills that wrote down whatever was said to them, tapestries that were also gateways to faraway lands and busts of long dead relatives that would offer advice were all common in his home. It was easy to forget that not everyone grew up like that. Dean certainly hadn’t. 

The knight had been fascinated by the door to their rooms. He kept moving the handle around and opening to door to see another room. Eventually Rowena had to tell him to stop, saying that the door wasn’t a toy.

There were plenty of subtle enchantments around the cottage. The cauldron wouldn’t boil over and the jug on the table would keep whatever was inside cold. Dean didn’t seem to notice these enchantments, which was probably the point. Flashy magic was a good way for a witch to get noticed by the wrong people.   
Rowena’s door had Castiel’s respect. He would planned to take apart the family library to see how it was done. The piece of magic that drew his awe was the table. Or the map. Maybe both, he couldn’t separate out which one caused the effect. And he didn’t have months to figure it out.

A few days after the solstice Raphael declared Dean well enough to travel. His wounds had healed and his energy levels were back to normal. He had already allowed the knight to practice forms in the yard. A practice that Castiel enjoyed watching. It was interesting to see the knight flow from stance to stance. And it had nothing at all to do with the fact that Dean performed his exercises shirtless.

Once he had received the approval to travel, they began making plans to leave the following morning. Clothes were washed, dried and put away. Saddle bags were checked and packed. Castiel couldn’t find the spoon for his meal kit, but thought he could do without it. The meal bag never made anything hot anyway. 

In the evening they began discussing what direction to go and how far they needed to travel. Rowena took a rolled up map from a chest in her study. She set the roll down on one end of the table and gave it a little push. The map unrolled itself and stretched across the table. The map kept unrolling, stretching well past the length of a blanket. The table had fit the three of them comfortably that morning, but should not have accommodated the size of this map. But the table kept expanding. When the map had finished unraveling completely the table could have easily sat twelve people. An expanding table like that alone was impressive. But what pushed it into amazing territory was that the table didn’t seem to take up any more room. The cottage didn’t get any bigger and everything was still the same distance away from the table, but now the table was four times as big. He could not decide if the table was grew itself or the map made it grow.

Rowena didn’t seem phased by the table/map trick. Instead of gaping slack-jawed, like he and Dean were, she ran her fingers along the symbols at the edge of the map and whispered the words to activate it. The map had a few simple lines running across it when not active. When it was active the lines vanished and were replaced with a scale model of the land. Most of the map was covered in forest, but the green was broken by rivers, small buildings and some open fields. A huge mountain range dominated the edge of the map closest to Rowena.

“This is my home here.” Rowena pointed to a small building near the edge of the forest. “I believe you want to head here,” she said gesturing toward the mountains.

“That’s probably where the dragon is,” Dean said. 

“It should be straightforward to get there. Another two days should see you out of the forest. There is a village right near the forest’s edge, but it likely won’t have what you need. I would suggest heading north for a week to Grovetop. It’s much bigger and you’ll probably find what you need there.”  
“We’re kind of in a hurry,” Dean said. “I’ve been recovering for almost a month already.”

Missouri had told them that their journey was going to slow down. It was vague enough at the time, but Castiel wondered if this is what the seer had meant. He didn’t voice his question though. Dean was already focusing on the areas of the map that Rowena was pointing to. If he said anything Dean might notice that there was a lot of green between where they were and where the elven ruins were. He might ask how they covered several hundred miles while he was dying. He might even ask why the trees across the road were shaved as if by a giant sword or about the deep footsteps leading from those trees to Rowena’s gate and back.   
He really didn’t want Dean to ask those questions because he wasn’t sure how to explain how he had cast a spell advanced enough to open a portal to a place hundreds of miles away. Not just to Dean, but to himself. He knew the theory of the spell, but had never been able to cast it. He had taken another step toward manifesting his staff and becoming a grand wizard and he’d never wanted to do that. He wasn’t sure how to explain, even to himself, how he had tossed aside his dislike for that future life because Dean had needed him. 

“What would I need in Grovetop?” Dean asked breaking Castiel from his thoughts.

“I’m not a knight,” Rowena started. Castiel could hear the snark in her voice before she said anything else. “Just a lowly witch, but I would think fighting a fully grown dragon in just your frayed tunic would be a bad idea.”

Dean blushed slightly. It made his freckles stand out. “A good point.” He pointed to the field between the village and Grovetop. “Could we save a few days by cutting across the field here?”

“If you’re brave enough sure,” Rowena said. “It’s called the Fields of the Damned for a reason though.”

“Why is it called that?”

“About four hundred years or so back there was a battle there,” the witch said. “Lots of people died. None of them seemed to have figured that part out yet. They keep re-enacting the same fight over and over again. It’s horrible to listen to.”

“Are they ghosts? Or are the bodies still fighting?” Castiel asked. Ghosts were relatively harmless, if scary, but walking corpses were quite another thing.

“Not even ghosts really,” Rowena said. “More like shadows. Spirits of the long dead. They fight the same battles, die the same deaths and then do it all over again.”

“Can they hurt the living?” Dean asked. 

“Maybe, but they’re too caught up in their own things to worry about the living,” Rowena said. “I’ve crossed the field a few times when I had to. It’s unpleasant, but not really dangerous. Frightening though. Most the stories about the place are ghost stories that the ignorant made up to scare each other.”

“What do you think?” Dean asked Castiel. “We could head to the town, cut across the field, hit Grovetop for some armour for me and then head back toward the mountains.”

Castiel looked at the map legend and did some calculations. “It’ll add another three days, but she’s right, facing the dragon without armour would be suicide.”

“Raphael probably won’t sew me back up if I get eaten by a dragon.”

“Actually, he might,” Castiel said. “No one’s ever been able to do it, so he’d probably want that accomplishment.”

Dean laughed. 

“I don’t think I’m entirely joking,” Castiel warned.

“Manticore venom was enough,” Rowena said. “I’m not letting your brother dance through my skull willy-nilly. Get the damn armour. Or pick some up off the field, there were some pieces laying around the place when I was there last. Just don’t come crawling back here begging to be patched up again.”

*****

It had rained over night. Dean had listened to it patter against the window in the early morning. He was too excited about finally being able to continue his quest to sleep. There was no point in checking his gear again, he’d already done that several times. Everything was where it was suppose to be and all he had to do was wait until it got light enough to leave. Or more correctly, late enough that he dare disturb Cas. 

He wasn’t worried about disturbing Rowena. He wasn’t even sure the witch actually slept. She was always bustling around when he woke up and was still puttering around when he retired for the night. It was just the grumpy wizard he had to worry about. He really wanted to get moving, being in a sickbed for weeks had grated on him, but he didn’t want to annoy Cas. Cas had been a point of calm for him throughout this entire experience. He didn’t want to lose that because he was impatient.

After an eternity it grew light enough for him to justify leaving the room. He did another check on his gear and found it was all exactly where he’d left it last time. He opened the door quietly and stepped into the main room. Unsurprisingly, Rowena was up already. At first he thought she was cooking, but there was an old book open on the table. He didn’t want to interrupt whatever she was doing, so he slipped outside instead.

Despite his desire to be quiet, Dean almost cried out in surprise. Cas was sitting outside on the bench. The sun had barely risen, but the wizard was upright and dressed. Not only that he was finishing saddling Baby. 

“This won’t be a habit,” Cas said without turning around. “But I thought you’d want an early start today.”

The rain had dropped to a drizzle by they’d finished eating and stopped entirely by the time they left. Rowena had provided them with two small vials that she claimed would speed recovery if drunk. She also gave them the chess set that had helped Dean keep his sanity. She claimed it had been collecting dust and at least with them it would get some use. The witch bid them farewell and closed her door to the damp weather.

Traveling in the rain had never been one of Dean’s favourite things, but he did always enjoy riding after it rained. There was a cleanness to the world after it rained. It was more pronounced in a forest. He took it as a good sign for their journey. It had been far to long since he’d been on the road and he probably would have considered a driving blizzard a good omen. 

Cas was still grumpy at being awake so early, but kept it to himself. Dean let the wizard fully awaken on his own terms and enjoyed the morning instead. The roads were wet, but not impassable. Periodically they had to walk over a branch that had fallen down, otherwise it was just puddles.

By late morning the wizard was fully awake and more talkative. They decided to have their lunch in the saddle to add a little more distance to their first day. The plan had been to stop early to make sure Dean was as recovered as everyone hoped he was. There was no need to have a setback because he was pushing himself too hard.

After lunch they found the road partially flooded. A stream had overrun its banks with the rain the previous night and hadn’t settled itself back down. It had risen to cover the road in a few centimeters of water. If they’d come across it the next day the road would have been dry. 

He held up his hand to have Cas stop. Water like this was usually fine, but it could make the road treacherous if a rider wasn’t careful. Dean pushed Baby forward and made his way slowly across the few meters of shallow water. The road was firm under Baby and when he was on the other side he turned back to signal Cas that he could cross.

The wizard crossed the same way Dean had, but looked at him oddly when he was on the other side. “What was that about?”

Dean was about to explain himself when green tendrils shot from the road and wrapped themselves around Cas. The wizard was yanked out of the saddle and landed heavily on the ground. Before Dean could register what had happened Cas was pulled toward the few centimeters of water and disappeared beneath the surface.

A voice sang out in delight. “The first to cross my lake is safe, but the second is mine by ancient pact.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely sure I'll name the sword, but I'm open to suggestions.


	12. Chapter 12

“Cas?” Dean blinked. “Cas?” He called again as he slid to the ground and walked toward the water. A breeze caused the surface to ripple. The water was slightly murky, but he could clearly see the road. He wasn’t sure what type of trap this might be and approached the edge of the water carefully.

The surface of the water broke and Cas’s head emerged. Green weeds were wrapped around his shoulders and neck. He mumbled something before being yanked back down. Dean caught a glimpse of a deep body of water beneath the road. He could see Cas being pulled down into the darkness. The wizard was struggling, but being pulled down despite his efforts. The surface rippled and Dean was staring at the road again.

“Leave first one,” the voice said. “You are free, only the second must stay.”

The water swirled like something was moving under the surface. Something big. But nothing was there. Dean could still see the road. Whatever was under the water swam to the far side of the road and back. It moved faster from one side to the other until it left waves in its wake. As the waves grew higher, Dean could see the shape of the creature. It looked like a horse, or at least had the head of one. Its arms were definitely human like and ended in claws that made him wish for his armour. The water swelled up as the creature swam toward where Dean was standing. The wave flowed past the knight and crashed into the road leaving the creature behind.

“Hell of an entrance,” Dean said to himself.

The creature stood out of its crouch. It towered over Dean, easily twice his height. He was right about it having a horses head, but it also had hooves where he’d have expected feet. The rest of the body was close enough to human to count, though it seemed sexless. He cursed under his breath. They’d stumbled across a kelpie. 

Bobby had told him stories about the creatures. They lived in the deepest and coldest lakes. They drown the unwary and than feasted on their corpses. Any water that had a drowning usually was claimed to house a kelpie. It was easier to blame the monster than accept that your idiot brother went swimming drunk. Dean wasn’t sure if Bobby had been trying to warn him about the dangers of water monsters, or just to not be stupid around water.

“Go first one.”

“Bring him back,” Dean countered. 

“He is mine,” the creature said. Its eyes flashed a deep green. “Mine by ancient pact. Leave.”

Dean thought about the sword at his side. It was magical, but he didn’t think it would help here. None of the stories Bobby had told him ended with the kelpie being killed or even defeated. They couldn’t be bargained with like some monsters and were almost impossible to trick. 

“Leave my lake mortal,” the kelpie warned. “I will not have my meal disturbed. It has been far too long since I’ve fed.”

He ignored the creature for a moment, something Bobby would have had his head for. There was a story where someone had won against a kelpie. It wasn’t a story that Bobby had told him. He’d heard it told over one of his father’s banquets. A drunken man had recounted how a maiden had rescued her lover from a kelpie by tricking the creature into wearing a horse bridle. Dean remembered how the man described the bridle burning the creature’s flesh. He also remembered being rushed out of the room by his mother before the storyteller explained how the maiden claimed her reward from her lover. 

Dean looked up at the kelpie. It was too big for a bridle. And there was no way he would get up to its head to strap one on. And even if he could, the kelpie certainly wouldn’t just let him do it. He doubted that part of the story was accurate. But maybe it wasn’t the bridle that won the day.

He turned away from the kelpie. It had ample opportunity to attack, but hadn’t yet. If he stayed it probably would, but it seemed more focused on getting its meal. Dean tried to ignore that its meal was Cas. He hoped that whatever the wizard had mumbled was a spell to let him breathe underwater. Otherwise any rescue attempts would come to late.

Baby had moved away from the kelpie, but hadn’t run off. She was a well trained horse, but supernatural creatures were a bit above even knightly training. Cas’ horse had taken off into the trees the moment Cas had been pulled from its back. He could see it in the distance, but he would deal with that later. He had other things to worry about.

With his back to the kelpie Dean pulled his knife. It was an old tool, given to him by his parents when he was only six years old. He’d promptly cut himself on it and learned never to do that again. It was well cared for, but had seen better days. It was perfect for his plan.

Two quick slices free Baby of her reins. He glanced over his shoulder. The kelpie was watching him, but hadn’t moved. It was starting to get agitated. The huge horse headed creature was pacing in place and snorting irritably. He guessed it was waiting for him to get on his horse and leave. Instead he walked back toward it with the reins hidden behind his back. 

Praying his plan would work, Dean stopped short of the creature. “Bring him back.”

The kelpie hunched down and snorted. “No,” it growled. “He is mine. And you had your chance to flee. You are mine as well.”

It lowered its head and took a step toward Dean. He stepped backward and lashed out with the reins. The leather slapped the kelpie across its cheek. The creature reeled back and cried out in pain. There was a blackened streak where the leather had burned its face. Before the kelpie could recover, Dean attacked with a flurry of blows. Each one left a black burn on the creature’s flesh and drove it further from the water. Several attacks on its leg caused it to collapse and Dean ran forward and jumped on its back. He wrapped the leather around its neck.

“Bring him back.”

The kelpie bucked and threw him off. Dean landed in the mud and rolled to avoid the attack he expected. 

It didn’t come.

The kelpie was on its knees with the leather reins still coiled around its neck. One end of the reins had unraveled enough to be touching the ground. The Kelpie was hunched forward as if the reins were far heavier than were. It kept jerking itself backward, but couldn’t lift itself high enough to lift the rein. It was as if it were chained to the ground.

By the time Dean got to his feet the creature was frantically jerking itself backward and wailing. If it wasn’t planning on eating Cas he would have felt sorry for it. 

“Bring him back.”

“He’s mine,” the creature wailed at him. “Mine.” 

The kelpie thrashed about again and tried to jerk itself in the direction of the water. A soft breeze blew across the water and Dean saw the road fade away. The dark waters where Cas had been taken shimmered into view. 

Dean drew his sword and dove into the water.

********

The water was cold. Very cold. The shock of being submerged in it almost pulled Castiel’s breath away. Through more luck than anything, he managed to keep his mouth shut and avoid losing his precious air. There was a very real chance he was going to drown here, but that didn’t mean he had to give up immediately.

In addition to being cold, the water was murky. Tiny fragments of plant leaves and grasses floated around him. He had no real sense of up or down either. The weeds pulled him, and he thought of that as ‘down’, but it was just as likely he was being pulled ‘sideways’. When he had touched the water he felt himself cross a barrier. This wasn’t the world he was used to, and there would be rules to follow. He hoped they were similar to the ones he already knew. 

The gate to his world lay tantalizingly close. He could sense it just above his head. He needed to get back through it before it closed. He knew some spells that would be useful in this situation, but he needed air to cast them. He could fight these weeds and whatever else lurked down here. He just needed to get to the surface first.

Castiel’s lungs began to burn with lack of air. He struggled against the weeds again and managed to free himself enough to swim toward gate. The weeds began to coil around his limbs again, but he was able to push his head through the gate. 

The air felt almost hot against his skin. He thought he heard Dean call his name, but ignored it. He concentrated on finishing the part of the spell that required him to speak aloud. He barely managed to finish the incantation before being yanked back into the water realm below. But it had worked. He could breath now. Small mercies. The cold might still kill him. Or whatever lived here. He felt something when he stuck his head through the gate. Something old and something that was   
also very hungry. He didn’t want to meet it down here. 

The weeds continued to pull him away from the gate, but slowed the further he got from it. He wasn’t sure if whatever force pulling him was weakening. Or if he just needed to be nearby whenever whatever he had sensed came for a snack. 

He felt the gate above him….in front of him….slam shut. It was gone and he was trapped here now. There might be another way out, but he could just as easily swim for years in any direction and never get out. Assuming he could free himself from these weeds.

There was here, but he couldn’t tell where it came from. It provided a dim glow to the water, almost like sunlight filtering down to the bottom of a deep lake. It was the same in every direction he looked. Enough to see by, but not enough to discern direction. He would get lost almost immediately when he started to explore. Being lost was better than doing nothing though. 

The weeds would tightening whenever he struggled, but would slacken when he ceased. He wasn’t going to be able to force himself free, he needed a knife. A knife he didn’t have. He ran though a mental inventory of what he had on his person when he was yanked off his horse. Not a lot, most of his possessions were in the bag on his horse The small book in his pocket was not only useless right now, it was probably ruined too. There was an apple he’d saved from Rowena’s tree to give his horse later on. And some burnt candle ends that he had saved for some reason. Nothing that would free him. 

He was considering chewing his way to freedom when he was pushed backward slightly. The weeds tightened and held him fast. A second and third wave slammed into him. He heard, or felt, the cries. Something was in pain. Or angry. Possibly both.

The water calmed and he bobbed gently. Whatever had happened seemed to have stopped. Though he thought he could hear gently sobbing. It seemed to come from all directions. He wasn’t even sure it was coming from any place at all, it might just be echoing in his head.

He felt the gate open again and sighed in relief. For just a moment. The way out might be present again, but it could be something returning to eat him. Something had definitely entered the water. He felt the movement. Then he saw a shadowy figure moving toward him. He couldn’t make out what it was. Smaller than he’d expected. But sirens and merfolk were human sized. Or it might be far enough away that he could see it, but not realize how far off it was.

*************

The water was colder than he had expected. He had expected chilly, not near freezing. Dean shrugged it off and hoped he would find Cas before his muscles began to cramp up. He could barely see anything. It wasn’t totally dark down here, but it was very dim. And his vision was further reduced by floating bits of plants. Dean kept swimming down. He wasn’t sure where Cas would be, but this was as good a direction as any to start. He wouldn’t have a lot of time, his air would run out soon and he would have to return to the surface.

He swam for a few strokes. A patch of deeper shadows drew his attention. It was bigger than Cas, but maybe he was around it. He changed his angle and swam toward it. It was difficult to swim with his sword drawn, but he didn’t want to try to draw it underwater.

The dark patch began to shape as he swam closer. It was a mass of weeds. Like the ones you’d find at the bottom of a pond. At the centre of the mass was Cas. The wizard was trussed up so tightly that he’d never get free by himself. The weeds were densely coiled around his limbs and Dean was worried about cutting Cas while trying to free him. To complicate matters, his lungs were starting to burn. He was going to have to get back to the surface and return. 

He swam close enough to Cas so that the wizard could see him. He gently caressed Cas’ face to make sure the wizard knew he was there and that he planned to come back. At least that’s what he hoped it conveyed. It was hard communicating underwater.

In response Cas closed the distance between them and kissed him. It was a nice kiss. Warm and gentle. Short though, too short. It made Dean’s insides flipflop around. He would have to have a repeat of this kiss. Perhaps a lot of repeats.

Dean shook his head to clear it. Now wasn’t the time to consider more kisses. He needed to get to the surface so he could come back down and free Cas. He started to pull away when he realized his lungs weren’t burning anymore.

Of course, it made sense. The kiss hadn’t been because Cas had been happy to see him, it had been to cast a spell. Dean wasn’t sure if he could breath under water,   
but he had another lungful of air at least. He felt a little disappointed by the motivation behind the kiss, but shoved those feelings aside. They could talk about that when they got out of this situation.

Swinging a sword underwater is almost impossible, but Dean made do. The blade was sharp enough that the weeds fell away when he had barely touched them. In just a few moments he had cut most of the plants away. He pulled the wizard the rest of the way free and they swam toward the surface.

The spell must have been temporary. As they neared the surface his lungs began to burn again. The first gulp of fresh air was fantastic. Cas made a similar gasping sound next to him. He grabbed the back of the wizard’s coat and heaved him up out of the water and onto the road. He clambered up after him.

****

It wasn’t a dignified way to be rescued, Castiel mused as he lay panting on the road. But it was a rescue. This was a situation where the results mattered more than anything else. He was out of that watery realm and that’s what counted. Dean lay panting next to him.

Castiel rolled over and pushed himself up to his knees. He needed to explain that the kiss he’d shared with Dean had been to share the spell. That it hadn’t been a real kiss. Not that he didn’t want to share a real kiss with the knight, but just that in this instance, it had been more practical. 

“Dean, about what happened down there.”

The knight waved him off and got up. Castiel raised his hand to have Dean help him up, but the man just walked away from him. He seemed angry. That kiss might   
have messed up whatever their relationship was.

He pulled himself to his feet and heard the sobbing at the same time he saw the creature. Even though it was kneeling with its head bent low to the ground, he could tell it was big. It almost seemed to be crying as it frantically jerked itself around. Despite the aggressive pulling it never seemed to move. It was stuck to the ground by some force, though Castiel didn’t think it was a spell. Moving to the side he could see a leather cord wrapped around its neck. 

Dean stalked up to it and grabbed the end of the cord and yanked the creature forward. “Leave,” he hissed at it. “Leave and never come back here.”

The creature nodded its horse head and mewled at the knight. It crawled pitifully after Dean as the man walked toward the water in the centre of the road. 

“Say you’ll never come back here.” He pulled on the leather again. “Swear it.”

“I swear it,” the creature wailed. “I swear I’ll never return here.”

“Good.” Dean uncoiled the leather and took a step back. “Leave.”

The creature dove into the water and vanished into the depths below the road. The surface of the water rippled and when it cleared Castiel could only see the dirt of the road. The gate was closed.

“I’m glad that’s over,” Dean said. 

“Me too,” Castiel said. He looked at Dean carefully. The man was still staring at the water, possibly not believing the creature’s oath to stay away. “Thank you for   
coming for me. I wouldn’t have made it out without you.”

Dean turned and smiled at him. “Not a knight in shining armour right now, but I’m happy to come to your rescue.”

Castiel felt himself blushing. And shivered. “We should probably build a fire and get dry. I don’t want you catching cold so soon after being ill.”   
Building a fire would buy him some time to explain his kiss to Dean. Or at least buy him time to explain it to himself so he could explain it to Dean. There probably wouldn’t be much dry firewood about, but they should find something to work with. Though he might need to use magic to get it started. He was busy casting around for a good spot to build a fire and didn’t notice Dean approach him.

“You’re right,” Dean said. “We should build a fire and get out of these wet clothes, but first...” 

He leaned down and kissed Castiel. Firm and gentle at the same time. Almost chaste, but with a hint of something else. It was perfect. Much better than the one underwater. He went a little weak in the knees. It might have been from exhaustion, but he liked to think it was because of how good the kiss was.


	13. Chapter 13

The breeze picked up and Dean started to shiver. He broke the kiss but didn’t pull away. He rested his forehead against Cas’. They stayed like that until another gust of wind blew past them. He planted a quick kiss on Cas’ lips and pulled back. “We should get dry and warm.” As cold as he was, Dean knew that Cas must be even colder. He had been underwater far longer than he had been.

Cas shiver and nodded. “I’ll get my horse and than we can find a place to build a fire.”

There was an acceptable spot just around the bend in the road. It was sheltered from the wind and there was even enough wood for a decent sized fire. Unfortunately, the rain from the night before had soaked most of it through. They might be able to dry some of it out if they managed to get a fire going, but Dean doubted their ability to even start a fire. If they couldn’t get one going they had at least blankets to dry themselves off with and dry clothes. 

Cas began setting up a fire. Dean helped, but expressed his opinion that getting a fire going was unlikely. The wizard waved him off and finished stuffing small twigs underneath the larger pieces of wood. 

“I’ve got this,” Cas said. He gestured at himself and than flourished. “Wizard. Remember?”

Dean laughed and watched Cas crouch down by the firepit. He whispered something into his clasped hands. A moment later Cas opened his hands and breathed along the cupped palms. Little motes of red light blew off and settled onto the wood. Wherever they landed little tongues of flames shot up. He moved a few steps around to the side and repeated the process. In short order they had a warm fire crackling away.

“I might not be rescuing wizards in distress,” Cas said. “But I can make myself useful.”

“You’re plenty good at rescuing knights in distress,” Dean told him.

“That was my brother and Rowena,” Cas corrected. He walked over to his horse and began pulling out dry clothes. “I wasn’t much help countering the venom.”

“I meant getting me there,” Dean said as he pulled out his own clothes. “I know how to read a map. Seems like we covered a lot of ground while I was delirious.”  
Cas didn’t respond. “Just saying you don’t owe me for pulling you out of the drink back there,” Dean explained. “Happy to do it though.” 

Once they were both in dry clothes, Cas helped Dean manhandle two fallen logs closer to the fire. They draped their clothes on one to dry and sat on the other. Dean wrapped a blanket around his shoulders and opened the side for Cas sit next to him if he wanted. Dean was happy that the man did settle under the blanket with him.

“Quite the first day back on the road,” Cas remarked after a bit. The sun had begun to set. “I know you’d hoped to make it a little further today.”

“I think we made it far enough,” Dean said. “At least we’re not still in Rowena’s backyard. I don’t think she’d appreciate us showing up on her doorstep like a pair of drowned rats.”

“Probably wouldn’t even let us in,” Cas chuckled. 

“If she did, she’d make us clean the floor afterward.”

They lapsed into silence, just watching the fire. The nighttime forest began to wake up around them. Dean kept hearing small rustles back among the trees and thought he saw the swooping of a bat overhead. It was full dark by the time they broke the silence.

“Think we’ll find the princess first?” Dean asked.

“Why not? We’ve just as much chance as anyone else,” Cas said.

“Yeah, but how many of the other knights spent almost a month flat on their backs?”

“It’s all part of the story, isn’t it?” Cas asked. “A knight gets sent out on a quest and all sorts of adventures happen to him. A lot of stuff slows him down from getting to where he wants to go, but in the end he gets there. It’d be a pretty boring story if the knight immediately accomplished his goal.”

“It’s been a pretty good story so far, hasn’t it?”

“The last bit was a bit wet for my liking,” Cas said. “But I bet people will ask to hear it when it’s over.” Dean noticed a bit of sadness in Cas’ voice. “It’ll end well though. You’ll defeat the dragon, rescue the princess, marry and become a prince.”

“What?” Dean sputtered. “Why would I marry the princess?”

“It’s tradition isn’t it?” Cas asked. “The knight who rescues the damsel marries her. It’s the way it works.”

“I don’t think I’ll marry the princess,” Dean said. 

“It would solve a lot of your problems,” Cas told him. “You’d have the best possible patron. Sam would have the schooling you want for him. Royal tutors are usually the best ones around.”

“I guess,” Dean said softly. “I don’t really want to marry a princess. Hoping for better options.”

********

It took them longer than expected to reach the forest’s edge. They had a late start the morning after their encounter with the kelpie. They were both stiff and it took some time to get going. The roads were clear of water, but there were still muddy patches and downed branches to work around. They’d had to spend another night in the forest before they finally left the trees behind. Castiel was a bit sad at the loss of the trees, he had grown accustomed to them, but it was nice to have a change of scenery. 

The forest had ended rather abruptly and opened up into a large field. The field was planted and growing happily. He could see people working in the field along side the crops. The field stretched down toward buildings below. This village was much larger than the last one. Easily twice as big. A well traveled road stretched to the north and south through the village. There were a few more crop fields to the west. After the fields were more trees, but thankfully not a forest. He could see a flat grassland beyond the trees.

He noticed that several of the workers in the field would pop their heads up briefly too look at the pair of them as they road along the field toward the road. Then they’d duck their heads back down and pretend they hadn’t been staring. Castiel didn’t need to turn around to know that the workers were staring at them openly once they’d passed by. At least they didn’t run and hide like the villagers did last time. He doubted that they’d offer much more assistance though. Common folk didn’t like mingling with the upper crust. Dean might not be in full armour, but it was impossible to mistake Baby for anything other than a nobleman’s horse. The villagers wouldn’t come close unless forced to. And there was no need for that. This place wouldn’t have a forge capable of making armour even if the blacksmith possessed the skill. They didn’t even need directions. The villagers would probably be happier if he and Dean just rode on without stopping.

“Did you want to follow the road north to Grovetop?” Castiel asked. 

“If you’re okay with it,” Dean said. “I’d like to take the shortcut through the fields.”

“Makes sense,” he said. “We’d have to come back this way anyway. Might as well cut across the field going north and than again coming south.”

“The distance is practical,” Dean said. “But the ghosts are slightly less practical.”

“Ghosts are never practical. If Rowena’s right though, we shouldn’t have to worry about them. We can just ignore them.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice if it was going to be that easy?” Dean asked. 

They camped next to the grassland beyond the farm fields that night. He hoped the weather behaved itself the next few days because there was not real cover to be had for several days in the direction they would be heading. Probably no resources for a fire either. He thought about bringing up those concerns to Dean, but didn’t want to seem like he was trying to overrule him. He wasn’t, and wouldn’t do that anyway, but he planned to grumble about it. Just to himself though. He could suck it up for a few days. Especially if it helped Dean. The knight was looking forward to having armour again, even if it was just a chain shirt. He’d told Castiel that he felt naked without armour. An image that Castiel was both pleased and flustered by. 

A few hours into riding through a grassy field Castiel began lamenting the boredom he’d had in the forest weeks before. This was real boredom. At least in the forest the trees changed. The grass didn’t have that decency. It all looked the same, every little hill they rode over revealed exactly the same thing. More grass. And then, even more grass. At least the weather was holding.

It was on the second day that the attack came. The tedium of the terrain had lulled him into a half doze. The shouting of men and thundering charge of horses snapped him out of his doze. He saw a dozen fully armoured men bearing down on him and Dean. His horse reared in confusion and terror. Castiel was almost thrown, but managed to cling to the saddle as his horse turned to charge back the way they’d come. He was met by the sight of another group of armed men charging toward them. His eyes widened as the tip of a lance speared him in the chest. The knight holding it didn’t stop and the lance sunk down to the hand guard. The horse and rider passed through him and his horse without pause. He managed to look over his shoulder in time to see the second group of me clash with the first. The sky darkened and he heard the whistling of arrows begin to fall around him.

Silence rang out across the field. The sun was shining brightly again.

Castiel tried to slow his breathing down while calming his horse that was dancing in circles not sure in which direction to run away. Even Baby was stepping in place. Dean looked pale, but not hurt.

“Are you okay?” Dean asked. 

“I think so,” Castiel said. “I think that was the ‘they’re to busy to bother the living’ thing Rowena mentioned.”

“I wonder how often that’s going to happen?”

They had their answer a few minutes later. Same attack without any warning. Same men charging. Same arrow darkened sky. It repeated three more times before they could ride out of the area. Similar events occurred throughout the rest of the day. Never any warning. The worst were the ones where the repeating scenes went beyond the initial clash and the men started dying. There was no way to block out the sights or sounds. Castiel had no idea how Rowena managed to cross the fields multiple times.

It took a bit of careful searching, but they found a spot to stop for the night that was free of the ghostly battle. It was hard enough to ride through those battles, it would have been impossible to sleep through them. 

Dean was unusually quiet as they set up their camp site for the night. The repeated battles had taken their toll on Castiel. Seeing men die around him wasn’t something he had ever seen before, but he could distance himself to an extent. These events, no matter how awful to witness, had happened long ago. These men, even if they had survived or never fought in this battle, would have been long dead by now anyway. Dean seemed more troubled. 

“I know this is a stupid question,” Cas said. “I’m not sure how else to say it. Are you alright?”

Dean laughed quietly. “Not really. I’ve fought before Cas. I’ve seen men die. But this?” He gestured out at the field. “These would have been my brothers dying. It’s a lot to watch. And they’re trapped.” He took a shaky breath. “It’s one thing to die for a cause. For your brothers. For whatever. It’s another to die over and over   
and over again.” He hung his head down and looked at the ground. “I can’t stop seeing him.”

Castiel knew who Dean was talking about without asking. The last scene they had seen before finding the camping spot would stick with him for along time. It was smaller in scale than some of the others. Just two men, but it repeated a dozen times before they could pass it. Both men were on foot and would appear in mid-strike. One only had sword and shield and the other only a mace. They would trade a few blows before the mace wielding fighter would land several attacks. A flurry of attacks brought him through the shield defence and in to hammer his foe up close. It really took one blow to end the fight. The mace crashed into the side of the other man’s head and he went down. Castiel thought he would remember the way the downed fighter’s eyes stared up at the sky for the rest of his life. The mace wielding man took a step away and the whole scene vanished. Only to begin again almost immediately.

“I know they’ve been dead of centuries,” Dean said. “It’s just no way for a man to end up. They deserve rest. I wish I could do something for them. Anyway, I’m going to try to get some sleep.”

Castiel ate a small meal alone. He had pulled extra food from the bag, but Dean didn’t touch it. He turned in early as well. With no wood for a fire there wasn’t much to see. And without Dean to talk to there wasn’t any real reason to stay awake. 

He slept poorly that night. Partially because he kept seeing the nameless man’s death on repeat every time he closed his eyes, but mostly because of Dean. Despite having turned in early the knight tossed and turned all night. Castiel did manage to slip off to sleep for short periods, but every time he did he woke the sounds of Dean’s restlessness. 

In the dark hours of the early morning Castiel made a plan. In the later hours of the early morning he began to argue against the plan. He gave all the reasons why his plan wouldn’t work and why it was a bad idea. When dawn finally broke he had fully talked himself out of his plan. 

Then he saw Dean.

The man hadn’t slept at all. His eyes were rimmed red with lack of sleep and, Castiel suspected, tears. Dean had spent the entire night awake thinking about the fate of a man he had never known. The plan came back into focus. He shoved aside his misgivings and decided he would act.

“You should eat something,” he told Dean. “You didn’t eat anything last night.”

“You’re up early,” Dean said quietly. His voice sounded off and Castiel was convinced he was right about the crying.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

“I hear you.”

“I need to do something before we leave this morning. I think it might help with,” he gestures vaguely out at the field.  
Dean nodded and started rolling up his blankets.

Castiel walked a short distance from the camp with his blanket and sat down on it. He took a few breathes and calmed his mind. The spell flowed easily and he reached out his mind. There was a telltale sensation with mind to mind communication. You didn’t have to respond to the message, but the sender always knew the message had been received. He felt the connection.

“Brother, I need you. Please come.”

He waited for a response, but none came. He wasn’t surprised by this. His plan probably wouldn’t even work. After a few minutes of waiting he gave up and went back to the campsite. Dean arched an eyebrow in question, but didn’t say anything. 

They were about to ride out for the day when a voice called out. 

“Hello brother. It’s been a long time.”

Cas turned and grimaced to himself. “It has been a long time Lucifer.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did a flip on my usual format and have this chapter open with Castiel's point of view. I couldn't really figure out a way to stay with my normal script. 
> 
> Sorry about the delay, work has been exhausting.

The cloak Lucifer was wearing obscured almost every detail about the man’s body. The hood even hid most of his face. If he hadn’t known better Castiel would have assumed the cloak was black, but he knew it was a dark burgundy. His brother had always liked the colour red. He was somewhat surprised that his brother hadn’t brought his staff along with him. He remembered how proud his brother had been when he achieved the rank of grand wizard and had taken his staff everywhere. Father had to finally counted staves as weapons and banned them from the meal table. Castiel remembered how Lucifer had groused about that for weeks, though the closest he got to disobeying the order was leaving his staff immediately outside the room. 

If he was being honest with himself, Castiel was relieved that his brother came without the staff. Though, he could call it anytime he wished. The staff manifested when a wizard performed powerful enough magic over a period of time. The magics involved would shape the form of the staff. Michael’s staff was routinely mistaken for a spear. A fitting staff for a war mage of Michael’s talent. Raphael’s was a pale, slender staff that gave off a pleasant perfume that helped banish the smells associated with the sick houses he frequented. Lucifer’s staff had always made Castiel uncomfortable. Demonic and necromantic magics had crafted a staff of dark, warped wood that always seemed to scratch the floor to create an eerie sound. It was a reminder of the darker magics his brother had chosen to follow.

Just seeing his brother brought back memories he thought he had forgotten. And the emotions that came with them. He felt the resentment about how his brother had been too busy consorting with demons to come home to be with their father as he died. The fear, though that had mellowed some to be more concern, over the creatures that could be summoned. Demons of all types were dangerous and difficult to control. There were a lot of good memories too and those caught him by surprise. He remembered being at the market with his family. He had gotten separated from them and found himself on the wrong end of a gang of older boys. They had chased him into an alley and knocked him down. They were in the process of beating him when Lucifer was there. His brother had yanked the boys off him and tossed them aside. The boys had tried to fight back, but were knocked about for their troubles. He quickly had sent the whole gang wailing from the alley. Castiel remembered how Lucifer hadn’t used any magic, though he could have dispatched the gang faster that way. Their parents had forbidden magical displays in the market place. Lucifer had been an awesome force that day. 

Castiel took a deep breath and let the memoires and the emotions go. Whatever had happened before couldn’t take precedent. Not today. He steeled himself and addressed his brother.

“It has been a long time,” Castiel repeated. “Thank you for coming.”

Lucifer bowed. “You called for my assistance, Castiel. You rarely ask for help, I couldn’t ignore that.”

Castiel frowned to himself. Lucifer was right, he didn’t like asking for help. But he needed it here. The Fields of the Damned were out of his league. If anyone could fix this place, it would be Lucifer.

“I asked for help with this,” he gestured around him.

Lucifer looked around and tilted his head to one side. “With your camp site?’

“No, the fields,” Castiel explained. “I want you to cleanse the fields.”

“Of what, brother?” Lucifer said. 

Castiel looked at his brother more closely and noticed that the man wasn’t casting a shadow in the morning light. His brother wasn’t here, not physically. He was looking at a projection. His brother could be anywhere in the world, but he wasn’t here. He sighed and felt a bit of the old resentment building up.

“You’re not here,” he said.

“No, I’m not,” Lucifer admitted. “Your call sounded urgent and I didn’t want to spend days traveling to you if I could offer assistance this way. If I need to be there physically I’ll come, but it will take time. I don’t even think Father could have covered that distance in such a short time.”

Castiel did his best to ignore the anger of his brother speaking of their father. He had no right to mention their father after he abandoned him. But bringing that up wouldn’t be productive right now.

“I need help with the Fields of the Damned,” Castiel explained. “I want you to lay them to rest.”

“The Fields of the Damned?” Lucifer sounded surprised. “You can’t be serious Castiel. There are tens of thousands of souls on that field. It would take a cabal of necromancers years to accomplish that.”

“Faster if you led the cabal,” Castiel countered.

“True,” Lucifer said. Castiel could hear the laughter in his voice. “But it is not something I can do from here, and it will take me time to get to you.”

“Is there nothing you can do from there?”

“Maybe,” Lucifer mused. “I have to ask why though? Not why should I do this, but why do you want me to do this?”

Castiel glanced over at Dean by the horses. The knight was staying out of the conversation, but would be there if Castiel needed him. “It would mean a lot to me if you did this.”

Lucifer spent a long moment looking at Dean. Castiel thought it was probably only a quick glance, but it felt like an eternity. Finally his brother looked at him again. 

“Show me one of these souls, perhaps there is something I can do. There will be a cost brother. Such magics aren’t free.”

“I’ll pay your price.”

“Without even knowing what it is?”

“It doesn’t matter, I’ll pay it.”

***********

Dean has almost jumped out of his skin when Lucifer had appeared. He hadn’t seen the man approach. Lack of sleep had dulled his senses somewhat, but as far as Dean could tell the man had just appeared out of thin air. Which made sense, sort of, since he was Cas’ brother. According to Cas’ stories, Lucifer was a powerful wizard in his own right. 

He let Cas take the lead with his brother and just stayed by the horses while the two men talked. He couldn’t hear much of what they were saying. Not that he was trying, that would have been rude. He was sure that Cas would tell him anything he needed to know.

He was very curious as to why Lucifer was here at all. From his stories, Cas didn’t get along with his brother for well. Cas had mentioned that his brother studied magic involving the dead, so maybe that’s why he reached out. Maybe the man could provide some protection while they crossed the fields. That would be useful. Dean could go the rest of his life without seeing the dead fighting each other over and over again. He had already spent one sleepless night seeing those battles every time he closed his eyes. He didn’t want to add new images to his collection. If Lucifer could offer that help, he would gladly take it. Assuming Cas approved of course. It was his brother after all.

Pulling himself from his thoughts Dean looked up to see Cas looking at him. It was a brief glance, but it made him feel better. The weight of the night slipped slightly. Quests were never easy, but having Cas along had made things a lot easier to deal with. His stories while they ate or his oddly timed jokes would take Dean’s mind off whatever was bothering him. The nightly chess games since leaving Rowena’s were something he looked forward to. And the kissing that happened made everything better. Though there could be more of that. Definitely something to talk to Cas about.

He shook his head to clear it and noticed that Lucifer was staring at him. Dean felt uncomfortable under that gaze. He didn’t feel like it was a malevolent look, just uncomfortable. He felt like a kid having gotten caught doing something he shouldn’t. It was a relief when Lucifer looked away again.

A moment later the two wizards were walking toward him. He was oddly nervous to meet Cas’ older brother.

“Hail and well met,” he greeted formally.

Cas arched an eyebrow at him. He wasn't normally this formal. “This is my brother Lucifer. And this is Dean, the knight that Gabriel sent me on a quest with.”

Dean extended his hand. Lucifer glanced at it and than back at Dean’s face. 

“I’m not quite here, sir knight. I appreciate the gesture of greeting and return its sentiment.”

Dean left his hand hanging for a moment. Cas placed his own on top and pushed his hand down. “My brother is far away, this is just a projection.”

“A what?” Dean asked feeling a little bit foolish.

“Think of it as an illusion,” Lucifer explained. “It means I could get here faster.”

“That makes sense,” Dean said. None of this made any sense.

“Castiel was going to show me one of the souls trapped here,” Lucifer said. “To see if I could actually help from where I am. Is there one near by?”

Dean grimaced. The closest was the one he had been watching all night. He couldn’t shake the image of the knight falling to his knees and collapsing dead on the ground. 

“There’s one this way.”

Dean wanted to look away, but he couldn’t. It seemed wrong for him to turn away from the scene. He watched the two men fight and the one man die. Again and again and again. Cas stood by his side and leaned into his shoulder offering the support of physical contact. Dean appreciated it and didn’t think he could have gotten through this without Cas. 

There was a very real chance that he would die violently. It was an occupational hazard for knights. Dragons, duels or warfare were common was for a knight to die. Sometimes they died of old age, but it was just as likely he’d end up with an arrow in his throat. He had made his peace with that. He didn’t like it at all, but he had accepted the reality. But this? Being trapped like this to fight and die only to fight and die all over? For eternity? These men had been fighting for hundreds of years and there was no end in sight. Death was suppose to be a release. A rest. This was anything but restful. He focused on Lucifer to avoid thinking about the fighting unfolding yet again. 

The wizard had started by just watching the fight. After several resets he began walking in a large circle around the men. Occasionally he’d stop and look at something. Dean never had any idea what he was seeing and didn’t want to bother Cas with his questions. He probably wouldn’t understand it anyway. He decided on ‘Lucifer was seeing magic’ and left it at that.

It was probably an hour later that Lucifer stopped his examinations and walked back over to where Dean and Cas were standing.

“Can you do anything?” Cas asked.

“There is a spell to release them,” Lucifer said. “But I cannot cast it from where I am right now.”

“How long will it take you to get here?”

“Too long,” Lucifer said a bit dismissively. “I can offer an alternative. I can have the supplies needed sent here and you can cast the spell yourself.”

“I don’t know anything about necromancy,” Cas protested. 

“It is a simple spell, but taxing.” Lucifer gestured at the two men. “You’ll need to pick one to free. You won’t have the energy to do it for both right now.”

Dean felt anger flare up. “You’re asking him to cast a dangerous spell because you don’t want to get off your ass?”

“Temper, temper dear knight.” Dean felt Lucifer was laughing at him. “I can come, but it would take over a month to get there. And you are on a quest. I don’t think you can spare the time. And the spell isn’t dangerous, just taxing. The instructions are clear. The worst thing that will happen is the spirit isn’t freed and my brother will need to take a nap.”

Dean didn’t like this. It was too dangerous.

“I’ll do it,” Cas said before Dean could interject. “Send the spell and supplies. I’ll cast the spell.”

Lucifer nodded. “It’ll take about an hour for me to get everything together and send it off. Stay at your campsite and I’ll send it there.”  
The wizard blinked out of sight. Dean was disappointed. There was no smoke, no ravens flying away, no gouts of flame. Just empty air where the wizard had stood. 

“You don’t have to do this,” Dean said. 

“I think I do,” Cas said quietly. 

“Why?” 

“Because this place hurts you. Just by it existing, it hurts you.” Cas looked back at the two men fighting. “And I can do something about it.”  
Dean stopped walk and touched Cas’ shoulder to get him to stop as well. “Don’t do this just for me. It’s dangerous.”  
Cas smiled. “I want to.” He pulled Dean into a hug. “And it’s not just for you. Those men deserve rest. Even if they were monsters in life, no one deserves this.” He hugged Dean tighter for a moment and let go. 

Dean didn’t let go. He started to say ‘thank you’, but it was cut off with a kiss.

**********

Lucifer had always been punctual to a fault. Castiel was sure that it was exactly an hour since his brother had left that he reappeared in the campsite. Or at least his projection did. Accompanying him was a small blue creature.

The creature was short, just under two feet tall. Its skin was a deep blue and entirely smooth, except for where it ended in a pair of tiny cloven feet. Huge ears drooped under their own weight on either side of its head. A pair of small horns poked off its brow. Clutched in its clawed hand was a burlap sack.

“You’ll need to provide your own flames for the candles,” Lucifer said. “But otherwise I’ve brought everything you’ll need.”

The creature placed the sack down and opened it. It reached inside and rummaged around for a moment before pulling out a slender volume that it held out to Castiel. He knew it was a grimoire, but it looked like it should contain poetry instead of spells. He accepted the book, being careful not to make contact with the creature’s skin. He wasn’t sure what type of demon it was, but it was definitely demonic. 

“I’ve marked the pages you’ll need and the notes will tell you when to burn the herbs.” Lucifer looked pointedly at the creature and it scrambled around in the bag to pull out a small pouch which it handed over to Castiel as well.

“Anything else?”

“Nothing that you need to do. There are some rune stones that I’ll have Dean place. It will take a little time to set up the parameter, so you’ll have some time to study the spell.”

Castiel wasn’t pleased with the idea of Lucifer being near Dean, even if it was just a shadow of his brother. He couldn’t quite figure out why, but he felt jealous. There was no reason to feel this way. He didn’t think Lucifer would do anything to harm Dean. And it wasn’t like he would try to steal a kiss from Dean. The idea of Dean kissing someone else bothered him a lot. He would need some time to think about where all of this was going.

“I guess I’ll start studying then.”

*******

“You’re placing that wrong. It needs to be angled more toward the west. Not that way. To the west Dean.”

Dean sighed and kept rotating the stone in his hand until it was aligned properly. When he got approval from Lucifer he set it down in the grass. The wizard look at it for a moment and told him to twist it slightly.

“I have no magical talent or training” Dean said. “Wouldn’t it be better if Cas or your little blue thing did this?”

“If I did that how would I get a chance to talk with you?”

“Why would you want to talk with me?”

“I’m curious about the man that would seem to be behind my brother breaking his longstanding silence with me,” Lucifer said. “I’m happy to hear from my brother, but I am curious.”

“Cas told me about that.”

“Did he now?” 

Lucifer stopped at the next spot and the next few minutes were taken up with Dean placing the rune stone incorrectly several times and eventually placing it in the proper spot.

“I won’t rehash family history,” Lucifer said. “Castiel has no doubt told you his version of events. I see them differently. As do others in our family, but that’s not worth going into right now. Suffice it to say that whatever my brother needs I will do for him.”

“Brothers should look out for each other.” Dean thought of Sam. He hoped the kid was doing okay. He had hoped to write a letter during the tourney to send home, but things happened. Word of the dragon had probably spread and Sam might already know what had happened. But that might make things worse, since he wouldn’t know where Dean was. Dean would have to send a letter home as soon as he could to fix that.

“Yes they should,” Lucifer agreed. “So I hope you understand that I will avenge any harm that comes to my brother.”

Dean swallowed thickly. This wasn’t where he thought the conversation was going to go. “That’s good to know.”

“I just wanted to make myself clear,” Lucifer said smoothly. “Regardless of how he feels about me, I love my brother and will do anything to keep him from harm.”

“If you’re that worried about him being hurt, why aren’t you the one casting this spell,” Dean asked. “It’s dangerous to mess around with magic.”

“If I could cast the spell I would,” Lucifer said. “The spell isn’t dangerous, just takes a lot of power to fuel it. Power that Castiel has. Despite what my brother believes about himself, I have trust in his abilities. In fact, I think he’s the only one in the family who doesn’t think he has the potential he does.”

“Cas can be whatever he wants,” Dean snapped. “He doesn’t need to be pushed into something.”

Lucifer chuckled. “Castiel has misconceptions about what it means to be a grand wizard. He’s shied away from his potential for a long time now. Always avoiding taking the steps to become a grand wizard. He has it in him, always has. He just didn’t want to because he was afraid he’d lose control of his life.” Lucifer sighed. “Fear is a terrible thing. Fear of one’s self is the worst kind.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t force him to face this than. Just let him come at it on his own terms.”

“An excellent point. For years he has avoided this. None of us really pushed him toward it once he made it clear he didn’t want it. But now he’s taking all of those steps. Casting all sorts of spells that he never had before. Not because he didn’t have the ability, but he didn’t want to. He pretended he couldn’t, but Castiel is a terrible liar.”

“What changed?”

“What changed?” Lucifer parroted. “I believe that would be you.”


	15. Chapter 15

The conversation with Lucifer had given Dean enough to mull over that he didn’t engage in much conversation as the pair finished placing the rune stones. The veiled threat about what would happen if he hurt Cas hung at the back of his mind. He didn’t want to put too much thought into what a wizard who could summon demons and command the dead would do to him if he hurt his brother. Dean shrugged that off, he didn’t want to hurt Cas. He’d sooner cut off his own arm. The fact that Lucifer might do that for him if the situation arose didn’t matter to him. If he hurt Cas, the least he deserved was to have a limb removed. It was a good thing that he didn’t intend to hurt Cas. He liked his arms attached like they were.

The idea that Cas was taking steps to become a grand wizard because of him was more worrying to him. The late night conversations had made it clear that Cas didn’t want the life that grand wizards lived. He didn’t want to shake kingdoms to their very foundations. Instead, he had talked of bees and quiet nights in front of the fire with a book. The last few days the quiet evenings also had room for a game of chess. He didn’t want to brew potions for kings and advise queens. Just a simple life. To Dean it sounded like a good life. Guilt was starting to gnaw at him for his own role in all of this, though he didn’t have a clue as to what he had done. Just had Lucifer’s word that Cas was doing it for him. And, deep down, he didn’t think Lucifer was lying.

They finished placing the stones and head back to where the campsite where Cas was reading. He was engrossed in the book and didn’t notice their return. Dean didn’t want to interrupt him, so sat down off to one side. He took some of the terrible jerky he still had from his saddlebag. He’d wait until Cas was finished to eat something more substantial. 

Cas had spread the contents of the small pouch out on a blanket in front of him and kept glancing down at the herbs while referencing the book. Occasionally his brow would furrow in concentration or confusion. He would touch the herbs and look back at the book and than touch the herbs again. When he was satisfied he would move on. Periodically he would close his eyes and move his fingers in odd gestures. Dean saw his lips moving, but couldn’t make sense of the words. 

Dean had never watched someone practice casting a spell. Before Cas he had seen very few people cast spells at all. It was interesting to watch the process, but more so because it was Cas. He wanted to ask questions, but felt that would be distracting. Instead he just watched. He tried not to focus too much on how adorable Cas looked during the whole process. Especially since Lucifer stood a few feet away. Or at least, Lucifer’s shadowy projection illusion thing stood a few feet away.

He wasn’t sure exactly how much longer Cas kept practice casting the spell, but eventually the wizard was finished and gathered up the herbs. Dean looked away so he wouldn’t be caught staring. He wasn’t sure why he was worried about that. It wasn’t like Cas minded when Dean kissed him, but this seemed a bit more intimate. Cas wasn’t aware he had been watched while studying. 

“I think I understand it,” Cas said. “It’s not a difficult spell, but it seems to require a lot of concentration.”

“It does,” Lucifer said. “The soul will resist you. It’s been stuck in the loop for so long it has become accustom to it. Part of the ritual is convincing the soul its’ dead.   
No easy feat. It comes as a bit of a shock for most souls.”

“Will it become hostile?” Dean asked worriedly. He had fought a manticore and a kelpie, but they were solid. He didn’t think he could stop a ghost.

“Sometimes,” Lucifer admitted. “Castiel will be standing inside the circle he’ll draw in the first part of the ritual. It’ll help guide the spell and protect him from the spirit.”

“What will I do if the spirit becomes too aggressive?” Cas asked. He pulled some bread and cheese from the food sack and passed it to Dean. 

“Usually best to finish the spell,” Lucifer said. “If you feel you can’t do that, than just wait it out. The spell tries to break the spirit free of its prison, if the spell stops than the prison reasserts itself. The soul will be pulled back into the same loop as before.”

Knowing there were options to abort helped Dean relax. Cas seemed confident, and that helped Dean further relax. Cas sat down next to him with his own meal. The wizard nudged him with his shoulder.

“I can do this,” Cas said. “I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t have to though,” Dean said. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I do,” Cas said quietly. “And I want to. I think I need to. For them, for you and for me.”

Dean squeeze Cas’ hand. “I’ll be here if you need me. Not sure what I’ll be able to do, but I’ll be here.”

Cas squeezed back. “I know.”

Dean cleared a patch of grass away so Cas could inscribe the circle on the dirt. After that there wasn’t anything for him to do. He retreated to the sidelines that Lucifer had indicated would be out of the range of the spirt if it grew aggressive. He did his best to ignore the soul dying repeatedly and focus on Cas instead.  
Cas had finished drawing the circle and set candles at a few key points. They weren’t spread symmetrically, and that bothered him for some reason. He always thought magic had to have an order to it, but it almost looked like the candles had been cast down at random. Cas seemed to know what he was doing though. He placed the herbs in several bowls and set them aside. When he was finished he look at the circle and than checked the book. Cas looked at Lucifer for confirmation. Dean didn’t see any acknowledgement, but Cas must have. He stepped inside the circle and began the spell.

Cas chanted something Dean couldn’t understand for several breaths. It grated against his ears and he was grateful when it stopped. Cas said something else and the candles lit themselves. He picked up the nearest bowl and began the chant again. Dean tried to ignore how the words seemed to scrape the inside of his skull.   
Cas placed the bowl over a candle and let go. The bowl remained suspended over the flame. A moment later thick smoke began to rise up from the bowl. By the time it did Cas was already placing another bowl. Once all the bowls were placed it became difficult to see Cas’ form clearly. He could smell the smoke from where he was standing and it wasn’t pleasant. It was acrid, but was the perfect aroma for the chanting. It smelt like the words felt inside Dean’s head.

The sound of the fighting changed with Cas’ chanting. The men were still trading blows, but instead of simply crumpling to his knees, the wielder of the sword and shield paused and looked around confused before collapsing. The pause was longer the second time and even longer the third time around. By the fifth time, he had even stopped trading blows with the other fighter. The man holding the mace didn’t seem to notice and kept going through the motions. He didn’t seem to notice that his blows were passing through his opponent. 

“What is happening?” The man looked around and saw the smoke shrouded form of Cas. “Who are you?” He took a step toward Cas and vanished. 

A moment later he appeared again ready to do battle with his opponent. He readied his sword and shield. He shook his head and stepped through the mace swung at his head. 

“Who are you?” 

The spirit looked confused, and Dean couldn’t blame him. He was about to find out he was dead and that would be enough to ruin anyone’s day. The spirt took another step toward Cas. He raised his sword and pointed it at the wizard.

“Who are you?” The spirit demanded again as it took another step toward Cas. “What have you done to me?” 

The spirit wasn’t blinking out to restart his fight, though his opponent carried on like he was still there. It was odd to watch the man fight against no one, but react like someone was there. Seeing that made the whole Field of the Damned seem even worse than it had before.

“Answer me!” The spirit yelled. “What have you done?” It broke into a run toward Cas. 

Dean wasn’t sure if the sword would hurt Cas or not, but he wasn’t going to risk it. He ran from his spot to intercept. He met the spirit before it could reach Cas. As he stepped into its path the spirit seemed to notice him for the first time. It drew up short and readied the sword.

“Who are you?” the spirit asked again. “Do you ally yourself with that foul sorcerer?”

“That man has saved you,” Dean responded angrily. Cas had done so much for this soul already. Dean wasn’t about to allow his name to be besmirched. “He pulled you from torment.”

“Torment? To fight at my king’s command?” The spirit laughed. “To fight so I may return to my beloved? This is not torment.”

“You don’t know,” Dean said softly. The anger lessened, but didn’t dissipate. 

“I know enough. You are either ensorcelled or in league with the sorcerer. It does not matter which, you are in my way.” The spirit raised his sword and swiftly brought it down at Dean.

Dean sidestepped and pulled his own sword. The spirit’s attacks might pass harmlessly through him, but he couldn’t be sure of that. He also didn’t want to find out. Despite being ethereal the spirit moved like it was encumbered by full armour. Dean could maneuver more easily and could sidestep the blows. Several came closer than he’d have liked. But each dodge brought them closer to Cas. The spirit was driving him back and without attacking there wasn’t anything Dean could do about it. 

The spirit feinted to the left and swiped his shield out at Dean. The attack caught him off guard and he wasn’t fully able to step out of range. The shield passed through his chest. Dean wasn’t sure if time slowed down or if the shield actually did pass through him slowly like he was made of honey. The shield’s movement was accompanied by waves of cold. Dean felt his breath being sucked away by its touch. He gasped and stumbled backward. 

Without giving him a chance to recover the spirit leapt forward with its sword raised overhead. The blade came whistling down. Dean reflexively tried to parry with his own sword. There was a solid clang of the weapons. The spirit stepped in closer to apply its fully weight to the weapon. Dean barely felt it. He could feel the force being exerted on the sword, but it didn’t translate into extra weight for him to push against. He kept the other weapon locked and began positioning himself to stand. It took very little effort for him to stand and push the spirit back. 

“Who are you?”

“I am Sir Dean Winchester. Defender of the Wizard Castiel. You will not harm him. I will not allow it.” Dean positioned himself between the spirit and Cas again. He kept his sword raised in case the spirit attacked again.

“What is happening?”

“You are dead,” Dean said quietly. “You have been for a long time. It’s time for you to rest.”

“No. That’s not possible,” the spirit said. “The fighting has barely begun. The enemy is already breaking. We will win this fight. I will go home to my love.”

Dean shook his head. “Your love is gone too. It’s been hundreds of years.”

“Andrea’s gone?” The spirit stepped back shaking its head. “No, that can’t be.”

“I’m sorry, I really am, but you’re dead.”

“Why am I still here?” The spirit dropped its sword and shield to the ground before falling to its knees. “If I’m dead why am I still here?”

“I don’t know,” Dean said. His anger had been replaced by pity. “We are trying to set you to rest.”

“Can you do it? Can you send me to my Andrea?”

“If anyone can, Cas can.”

“Then I’m ready. I’ve been here too long.”

Now that he wasn’t focused on the spirit, Dean could hear that Cas hadn’t stopped chanting. He wasn’t sure how long the spell would take to finish. He wished he’d asked earlier.

“I don’t know how long it will take for the spell to finish,” he admitted. 

The spirit waved him off. “No matter. I’ve wasted all this time already, what is a little more?” The spirit stood, but didn’t take up the sword or shield again. “Do you have a beloved Sir Winchester? One you would defend against all odds?”

Dean smiled. “Yeah, I think I do.”

“Never let that go. It is the greatest treasure you will ever have. Worth more than any amount of gold. More than your honour. More than your life.” The spirit looked him up and down. “Where is your armour Sir Winchester?”

“It was ruined after a fight with a manticore.”

“Truly?” the spirit seemed impressed. 

Cas’ chanting continued. The spirit’s form shimmered and flickered for a moment.

“I can almost hear my love calling for me.” The spirit looked toward the spot where he had died. “I can feel my bones there. Take up my armour Sir Winchester. Take it to replace your own. The smith said it would keep any blade from my skin, and I guess she was right. Didn’t do anything against a club to the head though.” 

Dean wasn’t sure if the spirit had made a joke or not. The offering of ones armour was a serious thing though. Usually it was passed from parent to child or teacher to student.

“Are you sure?”

“I am. It will do me no good where I am going. And Andrea never liked the smell anyway.”

“I would be honoured to wear your armour. What is your name? I would like to honour your memory.”

“Sir Benjamin Lafitte.” The spirit saluted. “Take my armour and wear it well brother.”

The spirit faded away with a sigh.

**************

Lucifer had been right, the spell wasn’t complex. It just took a lot of energy to keep it going. Maybe with more experience he could have cast this spell with less effort. Right now it was taking its toll to just keep it going. The words were simple, but he had been saying them repeatedly for however long he had been at this. He lost track once the world filled with bitter tasting smoke. He had no idea that yew wood produced such an acrid smoke. Though it might be one of the other herbs Lucifer had provided. He was going to need to wash this smell out of his hair when he was finished. That would have to wait though.

He did his best to keep his volume low to preserve his voice, but the spell seemed to guide him through highs and lows. He could feel the energies building and spreading out around him. There was resistance at first. A lot of resistance. Than the forces opposing him relaxed. He felt some relief at that until the resistance began again. Stronger than before. The energies he was building were in danger of unraveling and he fought to keep them in line. Eventually the resistance stopped again. It didn’t pick up again and he felt it slip away entirely. He thought he heard a woman’s voice in the distance. 

Castiel tried to keep chanting, but found himself tongue tied. The words weren’t forming properly and the smoke around him was becoming suffocating. His knees started to buckle. Strong arms caught him. He felt safe and let unconsciousness take him.

Castiel woke sometime later. He cracked his eyes open briefly. There was still daylight, but the shadows had changed from when he started casting the spell. He didn’t know how long the spell had taken, so he couldn’t judge how long he had been asleep. He still felt tired though. Very tired. He wasn’t sure why he was awake.  
He opened his eyes again. The shadows had moved again and the light wasn’t as bright as it was before. He must have fallen asleep again. He still felt tired, but less than he had before. He thought about letting himself drift off again, but hushed voices caught his attention.

One of them was Dean’s voice. He couldn’t make out what he was saying, but hearing the man’s deep whisper made him smile. He was safe if Dean was nearby. He could sleep if he wanted to. But he was curious about the other voice. It sounded like Lucifer’s. He frowned. Why had his brother stayed? With a great deal of effort, Castiel pulled himself up through the layers of sleep. 

More effort was needed, but he pushed himself into a sitting position and looked around for the voices. Dean sat nearby on his blanket. Lucifer stood a short distance away with that blue demon creature at his side. Castiel smiled again when he saw Dean. Neither of them seemed to have noticed him sitting up.

“You said he’d need a nap,” Dean growled. “He’s been unconscious all day.”

“Asleep, not unconscious,” Lucifer corrected. “I said it would take a great deal of energy to cast that spell. He will be fine with some rest. My brother has grown today. I am very proud of him.”

“At what cost though?”

“No cost he wasn’t willing to pay,” Lucifer said. “Besides, it worked. The soul of your friend was laid to rest.”

Dean looked like he was about to argue when he noticed that Castiel was awake. He turned to face him instead. 

“Cas, you’re awake.” The knight sort of half walked, half crawled to his side. “Are you okay? Do you need anything?”

Dean’s concern made Cas feel warm and even more safe than he had before. “I’m tired, but I think I’m fine otherwise.”

“Are you sure?”

“Maybe a little hungry.”

Dean leapt up and grabbed the food sack from Castiel’s bag. “Anything in particular you want?”

“I think it’ll be whatever mother thinks is best,” Lucifer said. “Whatever it provides, eat light. You’ll feel better in the morning.”

“I feel like I could sleep for a week,” Castiel said. He accepted the pear that Dean handed him. It was perfectly ripe. Not too soft, but not to hard either. 

“I felt the same way when it happened to me too,” Lucifer said. 

“The spell did this to you too?”

“Not as badly,” Lucifer said. “But I wasn’t referring to the spell in this case.” He pointed to Castiel’s side.

His heart sank. Laying next to Castiel was a long staff made of a reddish wood. Carved all along its length were animals, birds and insects. A ring of bees wrapped around the top end. Inlaid into the wood along the carvings was a deep green stone. The colour was familiar, though he couldn’t place where he knew it from.

“Oh.”

“This would have happened eventually brother,” Lucifer said gently. “It doesn’t mean what you’ve feared. I walk my path because I want to, not because I was forced. Find your own way and do what you will.”

“I guess,” Castiel mumbled. He knew that Lucifer was trying to help, but he still felt a weight in his chest. He picked up the staff and it was very light, almost like it wasn’t in his hand at all. But it still felt heavy.

“I should go now,” Lucifer said. “Dean will take good care of you. Right Dean?” Castiel heard a tone shift in his brother’s voice and caught the look he gave Dean, but didn’t understand it.

“Of course,” Dean said quickly. 

Castiel looked at his staff and set it down by his side. He would deal with that later. “We need to talk about payment first,” Castiel said to his brother. “You’ve fulfilled your end.”

“Payment?” Dean demanded. “I thought you helped your brother because he needed it.”

“I told Castiel that such magics are never free. It’s in their nature.”

“He’s paid enough,” Dean snapped. “Leave.”

“I agreed Dean,” Castiel said softly. “Let’s finish this. What do you want?”

Lucifer was quiet for a moment. “I want you to attend the next family gathering. I want you to not flee the room when I come in. I want to spend time with my brother and not force my family to choose between us. That is what I want. And that is the price of what I have given you today.”


	16. Chapter 16

It was impossible to travel with someone for any length of time and not to learn something about them. Sometimes big things, sometimes small things. Dean had learned that Cas was good with animals, or at least they really liked talking to him. Mostly birds, he had an affinity for the feathered creatures, but almost every type of animal reacted well to him. He was kind with them too. Listened politely to the birds when they sang endlessly about how great it was to fly. In a few memorable cases, they had even settled briefly on Dean’s shoulders. It was almost as magical as watching Cas perform actual magic. 

He’d learned that Cas preferred pears over apples. He would rotate what he was eating if several options were available, a bite of bread followed by a bite of cheese and so on. Dean, however, would just finish one thing at a time, all the bread than the cheese. He liked his water warmer than Dean did.

Cas’ grumpiness on waking in the morning was among the first things Dean learned about the wizard. He quickly learned to avoid conversation until Cas was awake. At best it questions would be answered in monosyllabic responses or grunts. At worst it was met with surly comments. Once he was awake, the wizard was pleasant, but until that point it was best to just let him be. 

Dean’s time with Cas had not prepared him for how grumpy Cas could be after a nap. The man had woken in the early evening. Dean had waited for him to wake before eating. The wizard had pulled food from the sack without saying anything and just handed Dean whatever came out. Dean had offered to let him take his pick of the meal selection and Cas had just taken a few things seemingly at random. He ate them quickly and spent the rest of the evening staring off across the darkened fields. 

Dean tried a few times to engage Cas in conversation, but it just fizzled out because Cas wasn’t holding up his end. Eventually Dean abandoned the prospect of conversation and let the wizard brood for awhile. He busied himself finding the items he’d need for tomorrow. He planned to spend the morning digging up the armour that Benjamin had gifted him. He hoped it fit, but if it didn’t it would be cheaper to get the suit resized rather than buy an entire suit of armour. 

Before they turned in for the night Dean tried one more time. He pulled Rowena’s chess set from his bag. “Cas?”

“What?”

Dean tried to ignore the flinty tone to Cas’ voice. “Did you want to play a game of chess before we go to bed?”

“No.”

Dean sighed and walked back to his pack. He stowed the set away. He noticed a cloth wrapped item that he hadn’t thought about in the last few days. He pulled it out and turned back to glance at Cas. The wizard was still staring off into the darkening field. He turned back to the bundle and unwrapped. The spoon still glowed, but far duller than before. It barely shed any light at all. He ran his thumb along the side of the spoon. He wasn’t sure why he’d kept it or why he hadn’t given it back to Cas. He just wanted to hold onto it for some reason. He sighed and rolled it back up before placing it next to the chess set.   
They both turned in early that night. Cas for his reasons. Dean because of boredom. 

The next morning Dean got up early. Cas was still sleeping and he didn’t want to wake the wizard. Partially because he felt that Cas needed the rest, and partially because he didn’t want to deal with grumpy Cas right now. He gathered up the items he’d pulled from his pack the night before and set off to where Benjamin had indicated his armour was.

It would have been a peaceful walk in the early morning light, but the screams of battle kept erupting around him. He kept his head down and did his best to ignore it. None of it really helped Dean’s mood. He was a bit hurt by Cas’ rejections the previous night. He also felt guilty about feeling hurt. Cas had had a lot dropped on in him the just a day. He’d reconciled with his brother, sort of. Dean knew Cas well enough to know that he would attend the next family gathering of the Novak clan and socialize with his brother as Lucifer had asked. He wasn’t sure it would be something that Cas would do again after that, but he would go at least once.

Cas had also manifested his staff and became a grand wizard. That had to be a huge thing to accept. He’d spent most of his life avoiding becoming a grand wizard and now he was one. Dean wanted a closer look at the staff, he’d only seen it from a distance. It had looked beautiful. Lucifer had explained that the magics involved were usually the determinate of what shape the staff took, but also the wielder’s personality. Over time the staff could change as its owner did, but the base form rarely altered much. Dean wasn’t surprised that Cas’ staff looked awesome, because he was awesome. Dean hoped he would be able to look at the staff, but to the best of his knowledge Cas had kept it wrapped in a blanket and hadn’t looked at it at all. 

Dean’s guilt was made worse by the fact that he was, at least in part, the reason that all of this had happened. Cas had insisted that he wanted to free Benjamin’s soul, but Dean couldn’t help but feel that he only did it for Dean. If that was true than Dean was the reason that Cas had become a grand wizard. It didn’t sit well with him that Cas had become something he didn’t want to be because of Dean. He wasn’t sure how to apologize to Cas for this.

He continued to let his mind wander over this while he set about digging where Benjamin had pointed. The lone mace wielding man kept appearing and going through the motions of attacking, but was alone now. It was surreal to watch. He ignored it as best he could. It helped that he didn’t have the best tools for digging, just a small spade that Benny had always insisted he pack and his belt knife. Focusing on the digging helped block out the man swinging a mace over his head.  
It took less time than he thought it would to find Benjamin’s remains. He found a suit of armour holding together fragments of bones. He carefully removed the armour and tried to leave the bones where they were. The armour seemed untouched by the centuries. It was just caked with dirt and grass. 

“Well, Benny.” Dean brushed the dirt off the breast plate and held it up in the morning light. “You had pretty good taste brother.”

Even through the dirt Dean could see that a running horse had been etched into the metal. The detail was impressive and he looked forward to seeing it all shined up. It would take time, but he knew it would be worth it. The armour was definitely enchanted, it would have been a pile of rust by now otherwise. He had no idea what enchantments were laid on the armour, but he hoped Cas could help him with that. Assuming that Cas was willing to talk to him.

Dean sighed and began placing the pieces of the field back in place over the bones. 

“Rest well, Benny. You’ve earned it.”

***********

Castiel groaned and rolled over again. The sun was firmly above the horizon and there was no ignoring it now. He had always preferred to stay up night and sleep in late into the morning. Since he’d started this quest with Dean sleeping in became near impossible. He knew he was cranky most days and was grateful that Dean let him come into the waking world at his own pace. It was just one of the many things that he appreciated about Dean.

He felt bad about how he had treated Dean the night before. He didn’t want to push the man away, but there was a lot of thoughts swirling through his mind. He wasn’t sure how to feel about Lucifer at all. He loved his brother, he knew that. He’d spent years thinking that he didn’t, but he had recently realized that he was just very angry with him. Angry and hurt. But he hadn’t stopped loving his brother. His conversations with Dean about Sam had helped in that regard. Talking about Sam brought out a spark of joy in Dean. Castiel hoped that he would be able to met the boy one day. 

Becoming a grand wizard was a blow that he wasn’t even sure how to deal with. Lucifer had told him that he was free to choose his own path. But if he was free to make that choice than why did Lucifer make the one he did? Why would anyone willingly spend time with demons? He had spent years assuming that Michael and Raphael had been forced into their current situations. That Lucifer had fallen into demonology and necromancy. It was a hard to wrap his head around the idea that they had decided to follow their paths willingly. Perhaps they were influenced, but ultimately they had made that choice. Part of him wanted to believe that he was free to be whatever he wanted, but a nagging voice kept telling him that this power would rule the rest of his life.

He unwrapped the staff. He ran his fingers along the bees along the top of the staff and than traced them down the green stone surrounding the animals. A master craftsman couldn’t have made a better piece. The animals looked real enough that he expected them to walk off the staff. When he closed his eyes he could almost hear the buzzing of the bees. He felt deeply connected to the staff. He just wasn’t sure how to feel about its existence.

Castiel turned the staff over in his hands a few times looking at the animals parade by. He felt his anxiety start to drain away. The green stone kept catching the sunlight and was calming as well. Regardless of how he felt about the staff it existed and he had to deal with it. 

He set the staff aside and wrapped it up in the blanket again. He would deal with that later. It would take time for him to come to terms with everything. His mother would be proud though, that was something at least. Maybe less so that he would use his amazing power to create the perfect beehive. 

Getting out of his blankets took more effort than he’d have liked. He was tired. Both physically and emotionally. Manifesting his staff had taken a lot out of him and it would take time to recover. The spell he’d cast also took its toll. On top of that was the emotional rollercoaster of dealing with his brother. He needed another nap and he just got up. 

Actually, he could use a hug right now. He wondered when Dean would get back. He knew that Dean had gone to get the armour that the soul had asked him to take. Dean would be back eventually and until then he’d have to entertain himself. 

He ate a small meal to break his fast and than puttered around the campsite to stretch his legs. After a few laps he sat down again. He was tired already. When he’d stood up he thought he might walk down to see how Dean was coming along, but now he didn’t think he would make it that far. He needed a bit more rest first.   
Grumbling to himself he accepted he was going to have to wait for Dean to come back.

******

It was early afternoon by the time that Dean returned to camp. He’d taken his time coming back. If asked he’d have said it was because there were large chunks of dirt that needed to be removed. There was no point in lugging dirt back to camp just to knock it off there. To himself he knew it was because he didn’t want to have to spend time with Cas being quiet again and shutting him out. It was a childish way to think, but it was still there. He liked Cas a lot and he didn’t know what was going to happen next, but he wanted to find out. And finding out meant trying to get Cas to talk to him.

Cas was sleeping when he got back. The wizard looked more rested than he had when he’d left that morning. Dean hoped that he hadn’t slept the whole day, but if he did he wouldn’t have begrudged him at all. 

He tried to be quiet, but carrying a sack full of armour isn’t something you can do quietly. It wasn’t quite a crash when he set the bag down, but there was a loud clanking. He winced and looked over at Cas. Cas’ eyes were open and looking back. Dean thought he saw a small smirk.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“I wasn’t asleep,” Cas told him. “Just resting.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Tired, but better.” Cas pulled himself into a sitting into position. “I take it you found the armour.”

“Yeah, it looks amazing,” Dean said. He pulled the breast plate from the bag and walked over to where Cas was sitting. He sat down next to him and brushed some of the dirt off, making sure to avoid getting any on Cas. “Whoever made this was a master and an artist.”

Cas reached out and traced the horse’s head. “It’s really detailed.” 

“I can’t imagine how long it took to make.”

Cas poured some water onto the corner of his blanket and wiped away some more of the dirt. With it cleaner Dean could see the lines of the horse weren’t solid. They were made up of tiny symbols carefully etched into the metal. 

“It’s enchanted. Not as good as your sword,” Cas said. “But really good.”

Dean laughed. “An enchanted sword and armour? I’m working my way up in the world.”

Cas laughed with him and Dean felt the knot of worry that had formed in his chest melt. 

******

The afternoon passed with Dean cleaning the armour he’d dug up. The grime of centuries fell away with little effort. The gentle sounds of Dean scrubbing had lulled him to sleep and Castiel had napped part of the afternoon away.

When he woke Dean had finished cleaning his armour and was checking the straps. The leather appeared to also have survived the centuries intact. Castiel suspected he would find tiny arcane symbols stamped into the leather in pleasing patterns. 

Instead of checking the leather though he watched Dean. The knight hadn’t noticed he was awake yet. His head was bent over his task and Castiel couldn’t see his eyes, but could see the frown of concentration. The occasional soft curse could be heard as Dean struggled to adjust the straps.

Castiel hadn’t known Dean long, about two months now. Less if you counted the time Dean had been delirious or unconscious. He felt like he knew the man well though and liked what he had found so far. He was worried about the future. It was custom for the rescuing knight to marry the lady he rescued. He’d already pointed this out to Dean and the knight had sort of shrugged it off. He hoped Dean shrugged it off because he cared for Castiel the way the wizard cared for him. They’d have to talk about that at some point. Probably better to do it after the princess was rescued. It shouldn’t be much longer. He could see the mountains in the distance. Another few days would put them at the base and they would find the dragon somewhere along its ridges. 

Before they had that talk though Castiel needed to apologize. He had good reason to be moody and quiet, but that didn’t excuse how he’d treated Dean the night before. The man had saved him from death more than once and he deserved an apology and an explanation. Especially since he was going to remain moody until he sorted out this whole grand wizard thing.

Castiel stood and walked over to where Dean was muttering over a piece of armour. It was pinched between his thighs and he grunted as he pulled on the leather. Castiel thought it might cover the lower leg, but it might have just as easily protected the arms. He would leave the armour to the specialist.

“Dean?” He touched the man’s shoulder.

“Huh?” Dean looked up and smiled and than frowned. “You’re awake. Are you okay? Do you need anything?” 

“I’m okay, Dean,” Castiel assured him. “Just a little tired still.”

“Are you sure? Do you want me to get you something to eat?” 

“In a minute, I want to talk with you first.”

“That’s never good.” Dean looked a little pale in the fading light.

“I’m sorry for how I treated you last night,” Castiel started. “I turn inward when I have a lot to think about. I get short with people and sort of ignore everything around me.” He sat down next to Dean with his knees touching the other man. “It’s going to keep happening for a little while. At least until I figure out what’s happened and how I feel about it.”

“It’s okay,” Dean said quickly. “You’ve had a lot dropped on you.”

“It’s not okay, but it is what it is,” Castiel said. “I wanted you to know that it isn’t your fault that I’m quiet. I don’t blame you for what’s happened.”

“But you did it for me,” Dean said quietly. “None of this would have happened if it weren’t for me.”

Castiel laughed quietly. “I think I’ve deluded myself into thinking that this wouldn’t happen eventually.”

“Are you going to be okay with it?”

“Eventually,” Castiel said. “It’ll take some time.”

Dean started to fidget a bit. “Um…could I see your staff?” His entire face turned red. “That sounded really forward. I meant your wizard’s staff. Ugh, that sounds just as bad.”

Castiel laughed. “I think I know what you meant.” He pushed Dean’s shoulder gently. “Maybe later. I’m still figuring it out for myself.”

The redness faded slightly from Dean’s face. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Castiel was still tired the next morning. He was struggling to get through packing up his blankets. Dean noticed and came over.

“Are you up to traveling today?” Dean asked. “We can wait another day if you need it.”

Castiel shook his head. “I’ll be fine,” he snapped. “We can’t wait forever.”

“We can if we have to,” Dean told him bluntly. 

Castiel ignored it and kept trying to stuff his blanket into his bag. A moment later Dean came back and knocked something against his arm. He looked down and saw the knight was handing him a small vial. It was one of the potions Rowena had given them when they’d left. He looked up questioningly.

“She said this would help recovery. Drink it and we’ll see how you feel in a bit. If you’re up to it we’ll set out today.” Dean left it unsaid they wouldn’t leave if Castiel wasn’t stronger.

Castiel sighed and rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He took the potion and knocked it back. It tasted like a custard with a hint of cinnamon. He was impressed. He’d tasted potions that tasted like a burning building before. “Happy?”

Dean didn’t say anything and went back to slowly packing his belongings away.

Part of him really didn’t want to admit anything, but the potion helped a lot. Within just a few minutes he could feel the fatigue fading. He wasn’t back to his usual energy levels yet, but he didn’t need to stop packing for a quick break. He forced himself to slow down and by the time everything was stowed away he felt almost normal.

“Better?” Dean asked. 

“Yes,” Castiel said. He felt a flicker of annoyance, but smashed that down. Dean was trying to help and this irritation had nothing to do with the help being offered. 

It was him just being an ass. “Thank you. I think I’m good to travel. The potion helped.”

Dean nodded. 

Castiel noted that Dean waited until he was in his saddle before getting into his own.

*********

Traveling through the Fields of Damned was an experience that Dean hoped he never had to do again. The long dead spirits re-enacting their battle was draining on him. There as almost no predicting when a battle would spring up and it took a moment to realize that it wasn’t physically happening anymore. 

He couldn’t have been happier to leave the field behind. Cas wasn’t much help reducing his tension. He was still moody and Dean did his best to leave him to his thoughts. It was frustrating for Dean to just watch from the sidelines, but he couldn’t help with every battle. This was something Cas had to work out for himself.   
It took them a few days to reach the mountains, or more accurately, where the slopes leading up to the mountains began. The land sloped upward toward the peaks. Gently at first, but rapidly steeper. He hoped the dragon wasn’t too far up. He hadn’t brought any climbing equipment with him. 

It was easier going than he’d hoped for, the horses had no difficulty with the lower hills and by the time they reached the mountain proper they had found a clearly defined path. In the forest it would have been overgrown ages ago as the forest reclaimed it, but here the worst damage done were a few low growing bushes and a bunch of weeds. Not much was willing to try to split the rock to take a stab at growing. They made their way single file along the winding path. The path was wide enough for two to ride abreast, but it was a tight fit and Dean didn’t want to risk them finding a weak spot in the rock. 

The lack of plant growth was helpful because it meant that there wasn’t much impeding their progress. But it meant that they were very exposed. As they rode higher Dean became even more aware of it. They were high enough above the lower grounds for a winged creature to have the advantage. 

They camped in a small cave, barely a break in the rock face. It was large enough to fit both of them and the horses, but it was a very tight fit. It made for a terrible campsite. He slept poorly and even Cas was ready to leave at first light. 

Both of them were happy to see the path begin to widen even more later that morning. It further widened and opened into a large plateau. The path continued up the mountain at the far side of the plateau. Carved into the mountain face was a village. Several doors and windows had been carved right into the rock and stairs had been chiseled out to allow access to higher levels. There were no people that he could see. It looked like whoever had lived here had left years before.

Dean turned to ask Cas his opinion. The wizard was looking out toward the open part of the plateau. The sky darkened briefly as a huge shape flew overhead. A moment later he heard the distinctive roar of a dragon.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the dragon

“Inside,” Dean barked. He didn’t know what, if anything, was inside the openings. He did know it was safer in there than on an exposed cliff face with a dragon breathing fire down on them. The doorways looked large enough to fit a horse, but not a rider. They’d have to dismount, which would slow them down a little. Hopefully not too much.

They had made it halfway to the doors when the shadow returned. This time it didn’t disappear overhead again. Dean didn’t bother turning back to look. He knew it was going to be a giant winged lizard and he wasn’t keen on watching it belch flames at them. 

There was clicking sound that was followed by a ‘woomf’. The entire plateau lit up and Dean felt intense heat slam into his back. Columns of orange shot out to his left and right, but left the middle of the plateau untouched. 

He glanced back to see that Cas had stopped his horse. The man had his right hand stretched out toward where the dragon presumably was. It was hard to tell now, they were surrounded by flames. A shimmering blue light kept the flames at bay. Cas was definitely concentrating on the spell, but it didn’t seem to be draining him. He appeared quite calm, though his horse didn’t seem pleased with what was happening.

A moment later the flames died out and the dragon was visible again. It roared in annoyance when it saw that they were unharmed. It hung in the air flapping its giant wings before flying upward again. Dean could see it was angling backward and would likely angle around to attack in close quarters.

“It’ll take a minute for its fire to recharge. Come on.” He waited for Cas to nudge his horse into motion. Once the wizard was ahead of him he moved Baby toward the openings in the rock face as well. It was going to be close. He remembered how fast the dragon was able to fly away back at the tourney. 

Cas reached the doorway ahead of him like he’d planned. He slid from his horse and grabbed the reins to lead the animal inside the darkened structure. Hopefully there wasn’t anything waiting for him. Dean slid from his own saddle. He almost lost his footing as the ground shook from a massive impact. The dragon had landed on the plateau.. He tapped Baby’s flank and the horse moved forward and stepped inside the structure. Dean pulled his sword and turned to face the dragon.

It was huge beast, easily standing several times taller than Dean. Green scales covered most of its body, but its stomach and underside of its wings were more blue than green. Its muscular body coiled around the plateau and would make maneuvering difficult for him. Spikes ran along a long tail that snaked toward the edge of the mountain. The dragon’s wings were partially spread like it planned to take to the sky at any moment. Dean was confident this thing could eat him in a single bite if it wanted to. Dragons were strong, agile and clever creatures. This was going to be a difficult fight.

The dragon slammed its clawed hand down near Dean. He took a step backward, but the claws weren’t close enough to hurt him. He noticed that the claws had sunk slightly into the rock face. The muscles in the hand tightened and dragon pulled itself forward quickly and snapped its teeth where Dean’s head had just been. The knight had ducked to his left when he saw the body surging forward. 

Dean darted in to slash at the dragon exposed neck. The blade slide along the scales without penetrating and doing any damage. There was a snort from the dragon and it pulled away from him. A large leathery wing obscured his vision for a moment. He stabbed into the tight membrane of the wing and felt his blade cut through. There was no blood at all, but it might keep the dragon from becoming airborne again and just roasting him when its fire had built up again. 

Despite the minimal damage done, the dragon was not happy. It shrieked and spun faster than Dean thought possible. He caught its tail in his midsection. If he hadn’t been wearing armour the blow would have broken his ribs. The blow lifted him off his feet and slammed him back against the cliff face. His vision exploded with stars. 

*******

It was dark on the other side of the doorway. Castiel concentrated for a moment and his staff materialized in his hand. He held it up and the green stone that ran along the carvings began to glow. He was standing in a large, mostly empty, room. Pieces of broken wood were scattered about. He suspected they’d once been furniture. A carefully marked firepit sat against one wall with the remains of a tripod over it, the pot was missing though. Even with the debris, the room was large enough for him, Dean and both horses. There was another doorway that led deeper into the mountain. This room looked safe enough. If the thick layer of dust was any indication, he was the first person to have set foot in here in a very long time. Goblins probably weren’t going to come streaming out of the other room. 

He felt the ground shake as Baby walked in behind him. His horse nickered in alarm. Castiel pulled his horse deeper into the room away from the doorway. Baby followed. They should be safe here. At least they were out of the way.

Castiel felt another tremor, but not nearly as strong as the first one. A moment later he heard the dragon snort and than a loud shriek. He was glad he still had his hands on his horse’s reins. The animal bucked and was close to panicking. He didn’t even bother trying to calm the animal down with words and instead put both horses to sleep. They couldn’t get into too much trouble if they were asleep. He would wake them when they were done with the dragon. 

A loud crash drew his attention. He dimmed the light of his staff and peeked his head out the door. The dragon had landed like he suspected and Dean had already engaged it. The knight lay in a heap at the base of one of the carved stairways. He was struggling back to his feet, but Castiel was sure the dragon wouldn’t let him do that. 

The dragon coiled itself back for an instant before pouncing forward. It brought its claws down and they stopped an few inches from Dean. The dragon grunted in surprise. It raised one of its clawed hands and smashed it down again. There was a ripple of blue light in the air and the claws stopped just short again. 

Castiel wasn’t sure how long he could keep the barrier up. It had been a lot easier to keep the flames away because they didn’t have any real physical force. Blocking the full force of an angry dragon’s blows was another matter entirely. He could probably keep the dragon off of Dean for only one or two more attacks. Fortunately, the knight had taken advantage of the reprieve and was almost back on his feet.

The dragon tilted its head to the side to try to puzzle out what was happening. It smashed at the barrier again. Castiel winced, he felt the spell slipping. He tighten his grip on the staff and tried to reenforce the spell. An instant later he began to berate himself. He was a grand wizard now and he had tools he wasn’t using. It took a slight change to the spell formed in his mind and he began channeling it through his staff. The green stone flared briefly and he felt the strain of the spell lighten considerably. 

Dean was fully on his feet and Castiel prepared to drop the barrier to let the knight continue with his battle. He felt confident that he’d be able to recast the spell faster next time. He let the barrier go.

The dragon wasn’t looking at Dean anymore. It was looking directly at him.

There was a clicking sound and the air began to ripple with heat.

********

Dean had fully expected to find out how strong the enchantments on his new armour were. Instead of feeling the dragon’s claws sink into his flesh, or hearing the scrape of claws on his armour, he heard nothing. He blinked the stars from his vision and saw that the claws were a few inches away from him, but not getting closer. The air shimmered slightly each time the dragon pushed down. The slight blue to the air told him Cas had managed to get a spell up in time and save his ass yet again. He took advantage of the barrier and pulled himself to his feet. He was going to be sore tomorrow, but that was a problem for tomorrow. If he made it that long.

A flash of green light caught his attention. Cas was peeking around the doorway and looking at the staff glowing staff in his hand. The light was already fading, but Dean wasn’t the only one that had noticed it. The dragon had turned away from Dean and was staring at Cas. The wizard hadn’t realized he’d been spotted yet.  
The dragon opened its mouth and Dean heard the clicking sound again. He was much closer to the flame this time, but it was angled away from him so he wasn’t cooked inside of his own armour. The heat was just as intense as the first time. Dean had never smelt the air itself burn. The air rippled and almost seemed to fold in on itself in an attempt to get away from the heat.

Cas disappeared behind a gout of flame. Dean could only hope that he’d managed to get inside the building and get that barrier spell up again. If he hadn’t there wasn’t anything that Dean could do about it right now. 

The dragon had lowered its head and extended its neck to breath fire at Cas. Its eyes were narrowed. Dean wasn’t sure if it was to protect them from the heat or just because it was focusing. He didn’t care either way. He stepped away from the cliff face and stabbed upward with his sword. The dragon’s wings were hugged close to its body and nothing was between Dean and the yellow eye. 

The tip of the blade sinking into the eye had several effects. The fire stopped immediately. It was replaced with a deafening roar of pain. The dragon flailed its limbs and Dean was knocked backward again. He managed to maintain his footing, but had to take several quick steps up the carved stairs to avoid falling down. The enchantment on the blade seemed to hold because he hadn’t dropped it.

The dragon thrashed on the plateau bellowing in pain. Its flailing crushed a boulder to gravel and sent a dust cloud into the air. It wasn’t breathing gouts of flame, but small tongues of flame accompanied its screams. Blood ran freely from its ruined eye. 

The blow to the eye hadn’t been a killing one. The dragon angry now. And shortly was going to be looking for someone to vent its anger on.

*****

Castiel had thrown himself backward while casting the barrier spell. He covered the doorway with it and the flames didn’t come into the building itself. He could still feel the heat from the fire though and some of the broken pieces of wood closest to the door started to blacken. The barrier held. So did the sleep spell on the horses. No amount of calming words would have kept them from panicking. 

The flames abrupt died away and were replaced with a cry of pain. There was a lot of crashing around outside and Castiel assumed that Dean must have landed a solid blow against the creature. He didn’t think it was a killing blow. Dragons didn’t die that easy. 

He hadn’t been graceful when he pitched himself backward to avoid the flames. He was glad that no one was around to see him fall on his ass like that. He didn’t care what most people thought of him, but embarrassing was still embarrassing. He stood and brushed the dust off his coat as best he could. 

Once he was sure the dragon wouldn’t immediately fill the room he was in with fire, Castiel dropped dismissed the barrier spell. He popped his head out quickly to see what was going on.

The dragon was writhing around the plateau. Dean had moved part way up the staircase he’d been standing next too. He was safely out of the dragon’s way for the moment, but once it got itself under control again he’d be in trouble. 

Castiel considered the situation. Dean was going to need more defensive options than he had right now. He seemed to be doing fairly well with the sword, but only had his armour to protect him. During the tourney Dean had made good use of his shield and one would likely be helpful here. None of the debris in the room with him was big enough to work as a shield, and even if it was, it was all too flimsy. He could keep casting the barrier spell, but the dragon would figure out away to stop that from happening. Dragons were far smarter than they were given credit for. Dean needed a shield he could wield without having to rely on Castiel.

There was nothing in his pack that would work, but Dean might have something in his. He would apologize for invading the man’s privacy later. Dean probably wouldn’t mind given the circumstances. 

Castiel quickly began emptying Dean’s pack. The blankets and spare clothes were tossed aside. They wouldn’t be helpful right now. The chess set was discarded as well. He noted the second potion Rowena had given them. That would be useful later. He found a bundle of cloth that was wrapped around a faintly glowing spoon. Why on earth did Dean have Castiel’s spoon tucked in his pack? He’d deal with that later. There was nothing here that would help either.

Casting around the room again he hoped he’d find something that he’d missed. His eyes fell on his staff and he berated himself again. He could reshape his staff. He’d seen Michael do it dozens of times. Michael’s staff could normally be mistaken for a spear, but he’s seen his brother shape it into a number of weapons. One time he’d turned it into a chair, though Castiel couldn’t remember why he’d done that.

Seeing something done and doing it yourself was very different. Michael had said that shaping his staff was more of an act of will than casting a spell. Castiel hoped it was that simple. He built a picture of a shield in his mind, basing it off the shield Dean had worn at the tourney. Then he forced his will into his staff and tried to make it change. 

Nothing happened.

He frowned and began the process over again. Same result. Nothing.

“Come on,” he begged. “Please.”

He felt the staff shift in his hands and began to flatten out. The wood of the staff flowed like water and it took the shape of a shield. The animals were still there and outlined in green, but it wasn’t a staff anymore. It was a shield. He thought it would work well. Now he just had to get it to Dean.

He popped his head outside again. Dean was still on the stairs. Between them was the dragon. The dragon hadn’t calmed down at all. There was a good chance he’d be crushed by the beast if he set foot outside. He needed another way to reach Dean.

Ducking back inside he looked around again. The other doorway was the only other way out of the room. He ran over to it and looked inside. There was a long hallway that lead further into the mountain. The end of the hallway was obscured in the dark. He didn’t have time to wander the halls of the village hoping to find a passage that would lead him over to Dean.

Castiel wished there was another door out of the room. One that lead to a room beside this one. He glared at the wall where he wanted the door to be, but one didn’t appear. He glared harder, but the stone didn’t care.

Glaring at the wall didn’t make a door, but it did remind Castiel about one of his tutors. The man had been a bore and almost impossible to listen to. His lessons would have been interesting if the man had figured out how to alter the cadence of his voice. Castiel had almost always tuned the man out, but sometimes could force himself to pay attention. Usually he paid attention when the tutor was talking about magic being applied in novel ways. 

He stopped glaring at the wall and smiled. This would probably work. 

He hoped.

*****

The dragon was starting to calm down. The injury Dean had inflicted on its eye had been painful, but once it calmed down it was going to come for him. The stairs led upward and ended at a small terrace. There was a door there as well. He thought about moving up there, but he couldn’t play hide and seek with the dragon forever. Eventually he would have to face the creature head on. He might as well do it while the beast was still freshly injured.  
His strategies were limited. Retreat was not really an option here. He couldn’t continue to give ground. Attacking was viable, but it would be dangerous. His sword had proven to be effective and the dragon might be wary of it once he got close, but it was going to be difficult to use the sword for both offense and defence. It would tricky, but doable with some luck. A lot of luck.

“Dean”

“Gah.” Dean couldn’t help the strangled cry of surprise. 

Cas was standing next to him on the steps. No. Cas should be standing next to him, but he was leaning out of the solid stone instead. His legs were buried in the mountain. He was holding a shield.

“Here.” The wizard shoved the shield into his arms. “I’ll see if I can keep it distracted for you.” 

Cas merged into the rock and vanished. If he hadn’t been holding the shield, Dean would have assumed the whole thing had been a delusion brought on by him smacking his head. 

He sheathed his sword briefly and strapped the shield on. The shield was very light, he could barely feel it on his arm. He hoped it would hold up to an attack. No chance to test it. He noticed the animal motif along its face. It reminded him of Cas’ staff. Dean wondered where the wizard found it.

The dragon was calming down. Its cries of pain had quieted some and it wasn’t thrashing around anymore. It wouldn’t take long for it to rally and start attacking again. Dean decided that he would wait for it to move a little further away from the stairs and than attack it again. 

Something bounced off the dragon’s head and snapped the creature out of its pain induced confusion. It snapped its head around looking for where the attack had come from. Another round object clipped its uninjured wing. 

Dean didn’t see what the first object was, but the second rolled toward where he was standing. It was an apple. Another apple flew over the dragon and landed near the second one. He glanced over and saw Cas chucking apples. It was a distraction for sure. And it was working, the dragon had zeroed in on the wizard again. It roared in anger and turned to face the doorway Cas was standing in. 

Now was the best chance he’d get. Dean jumped down from the steps and ran in under the dragon’s wing. He slashed at the creature’s belly and left a deep gouge. The dragon spun and snapped its jaws down to where he was standing. Dean raised his shield and blocked the teeth from getting to him. The dragon kicked out and knocked him away. He had the dragon’s full attention now.

*****

Castiel reached into the food sack and grabbed for another apple. He pulled a wedge of cheese out instead. Harder to throw, but would be distracting. He raised the cheese and started to throw it when he was yanked backward. He fell onto his back and the cheese only made it a yard before smacking into the dust.

Standing over him was a woman in a dishevelled dress that may have at one point been a white or cream coloured. Now it was closer to a dusty grey. The gown was dirty and frayed, but obviously of good make. Her red hair was tangled and fell about her face and shoulders. She looked tired and dirty.

“Princess?” Cas asked.

“You have to stop her,” she said. “She’s going to kill him. Or he’s going to kill her.”

******

Dean was starting to get tired. Combat was always tiring, but fighting a dragon in full armour was exhausting. He couldn’t keep this pace up for much longer. And slowing down was going to get him killed. He needed to finish this quickly.

The dragon lashed out with its claws again and Dean blocked with his shield. His arm went numb for a moment from the impact, but the feeling returned a moment later. He had been worried the shield wouldn’t hold up, but so far it had been doing a fantastic job. He was still taking a beating, but he was just going to be bruised, rather than shredded. 

He traded a few more blows with the dragon before it managed to slap him backward with its tail. The dragon moved backward as well and lowered its head. Dean barely go the shield up before the flames shot out. 

It took a moment for him to realize that the heat felt different than he thought it should. It was there and he could feel it, but the shield wasn’t big enough to block all of the fire. He cautiously peeked over the shield and saw the familiar blue shimmer in the air. Cas was lending a hand again. He’d have to thank the wizard when he got a chance. Soon he hoped.

The fire died away and Dean readied himself for another assault. The blue shimmer in the air didn’t fade though. The dragon struck at the barrier, but couldn’t punch through it. 

“Cas?” Dean shouted. “What are you up to?”

“STOP IT!” 

Dean had expected Cas’ deep voice, so the feminine voice confused him. The barrier spell was still active so he risked a look.

A red headed woman in a very dirty dress was standing near the doorway that Cas had been throwing fruit from. She looked dirty and tired, but also very determined.  
“Enough. I don’t want to do this.” The woman stalked toward the dragon. In her right hand she carried a long rod of metal. “This has to stop.”

The dragon started to back away from the woman. It had gotten very close to the cliff face to get at Dean and was going to have difficulty moving away from this woman. He wanted to interpose himself between her and the dragon, but Cas hadn’t dropped the barrier. The dragon didn’t make any attempt to attack the woman and instead kept shuffling backward. It looked confused and sad. Or at least it seemed that way to Dean. He had no idea what was happening.

The woman was walking forward faster than the dragon was retreating. She walked right up to the beast. 

“I’m sorry.”

She swung the rod she was carrying and struck the dragon firmly in the left arm. It didn’t look like she’d hit with a lot of force, but the dragon recoiled and screamed. It wasn’t the shrieking or roaring it had done before. It was a higher pitch scream. An almost human scream. The dragon began to thrash again. Dean was concerned for the woman’s safety, but Cas was there and pulling her away. She struggled for a moment, but he managed to drag her back the doorway.

The dragon began to shrink in on itself. The wings collapsed to its side and merged with the flesh there. It stood up on its back legs and started to collapse over onto its side. As it fell it shrunk faster. The tail disappeared entirely. There was a blur of colour; green and blue. It made focusing difficult.  
When Dean could focus his vision again the dragon was gone. In its place was a battered and bleeding Lady Gilda.


	18. Chapter 18

“Oh Gilda,” the red head said. She tossed the rod aside and sunk to her knees. She pulled the woman’s head into her lap and brushed the hair from her eyes. At some point during the transformation the woman had lost consciousness.

Lady Gilda had been badly beaten. Her blue dress was in tatters and caked in blood. All of the injuries Dean had inflicted on the dragon were apparent on her body somewhere. There was a deep cut in her side that was bleeding . Her left eye was a mess of blood, but it wasn’t bleeding as openly as it had been before. Her left arm was blackened from where the rod struck her, it looked like a severe burn.

“What the hell is happening?” Dean asked. He knew what he was seeing, but had no idea what any of it meant.

“Lady Gilda is our dragon,” Cas said.

“What?”

“Lady Gilda is the dragon,” Cas repeated.

“I beat up a lady of the court?” Dean looked at Princess Charlene. “You’re friends with a dragon?”

“She’s not a dragon,” Charlene said. “She’s a fairy.” 

“That’s….not better?” Dean said. “Wait. I saw her on the field after you were carried off. How was she the dragon?”

“A friend of Gilda’s helped,” Charlene said. “He said he’d cover for us.”

“A friend?” Cas interjected. “What did this friend look like?”

“He came with you to our box the day I ran off,” Charlene said. “I can’t remember his name though.”

“Gabriel,” Cas hissed. “I am going to kill him for this.”

“That’s going to have to wait,” Dean said. “She’s going to need a healer. Unless a fairy can heal themselves.”

Cas took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. “I don’t think they can. Do you think we can move her?”

“We don’t have much of a choice if we want her to live,” Dean said. “I’ve seen injuries like those before. They’re likely to fester and do it fast.”

“Risk it,” Charlene said. “I’ll carry her myself if I have to.”

“We can put her on my horse,” Dean told her. “You too. I’ll walk.” He sighed and looked down the way they came. “It’s going to take a week to reach Rowena. And that’s if we cross the Fields of the Damned.”

“What are the Fields of the Damned?” Charlene asked. “Actually, it doesn’t matter. We’ll cross them if we have to.” She looked up at Cas. “You’re a wizard, can’t you magic up a solution to this?”

Dean looked over the princess’ head at Cas. The man was busy looking at Gilda and frowning. He didn’t notice Dean watching him. The wizard looked tired. Dean knew he had cast a lot of magic in that last half hour. Far more than he normally did. None of it seemed as draining as the ritual to free Benny’s soul, but it still had to take a toll on Cas. Cas chewed on his lower lip for a moment. It was adorable. He looked up and saw Dean staring at him. He smiled. The smile made Dean feel like everything was going to be okay.

“We’ll have to use magic,” Cas said finally. “I don’t know if she’d survive a week’s travels in her state.”

“What were you thinking?” Dean asked.

Cas blushed. “Same way I got you to Rowena’s. It’ll take a few minutes to get the spell set up.”

Dean had figured out that Cas had used magic to transport him to Rowena’s cottage. He’d seen the map and the distances involved. He also had a rough idea of how sick he had been at the time. There was no chance he had been able to cross that distance and be alive at the other end of the trip. He was curious as to how Cas had managed to pull it off, but there were things to do first.

“I’ll get the horses,” Dean told them. He started walking toward the doorway that Cas and the horses had disappeared through earlier. The excitement of the fight was wearing off and he could feel some fatigue setting in. Accompanying it was some soreness. He was already starting to feel the effects of being bashed around by a dragon. Even if it was only a fairy in disguise. This was going to make for a great story at some point.

“I’ll come with you,” Cas said. “I need to wake the horses up.”

“I have no idea what that means,” Dean said. “But alright.” He turned to the princess. “We’ll be back in a moment. Is there anything you need to gather before we leave?”

She shook her head. “Nothing worth taking. Unless you need a few moldy potatoes.”

“I think we’ll be good.”

The horses were sleeping in the corner. He was pretty sure Baby was snoring. 

“They were panicking,” Cas explained. “I couldn’t think of any other way to stop them from running off.”

“It’s a good solution,” Dean admitted. He looked around the room. His travel belongings were tossed in a pile. It looked like his saddlebag had been upended. “Um, why does it look like I’ve been robbed?”

Cas blushed again. “I was trying to find something to make you a shield. I thought you might have something that would work.”

Dean held up his arm where the shield was still in place. “I definitely didn’t have anything like this.”

“You didn’t,” Cas said. “I used my staff instead. It just didn’t occur to me at first.”

“Do you want it back right now?”

“Later,” Cas told him. “I can cast this spell without it.”

Dean shrugged. He wasn’t going to complain if Cas was trusting him with his staff. He didn’t know about wizards, but he knew that it was a great honour for a knight to trust another with their sword. It meant the knight trusted this other person a great deal. He hoped it was the same with a wizard and their staff.   
“You wake up the horses and I’ll put my stuff back in my bag.”

“Make sure you wrap the spoon tightly,” Cas said mildly. “I’d hate for it to get lost.”

Dean’s eyes widened. “Sorry. Did you want that back?”

“Not really,” Cas said. “I am curious about why you took it though.”

Dean rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. “I kind of wanted to hold onto it because you made it,” he mumbled.

Cas kissed him. “I can make you as many spoons as you’d like.”

Princess Charlene hadn’t moved from where they’d left her a few minutes before. The only change that Dean could see was that she had torn her dress to make a bandage to press against Gilda’s side. He doubted the safety of using such dirty cloth for the task, but there weren’t a lot of options. 

The horses were awake and seemed none the worse for their magical nap. The saddle bags were packed again and they would be ready to go whenever Cas was finished with the spell. Dean had learned that not all magic was flashy. Some of it could be downright subtle. The spell Cas was casting wasn’t of the subtle variety. Cas had spent a few minutes pacing along a line muttering something under his breath. When he’d finished that, Dean didn’t know how Cas knew he was done, the man had stepped back and started speaking a tongue twisting speech. It ended with him clapping his hands together.

A thin vertical line appeared when Cas clapped his hands. It looked like someone had drawn in the air with silver ink. The line spread out to the left and right as Cas pulled his hands apart and extended his arms. Once Cas’ arms were fully extended he spun them in a circle. The line responded but spinning around like a wheel leaving a large silver disc suspended just above the ground. Cas waved his hand over and the silver faded away to show Rowena’s cottage and her yard.

“Let’s see if Rowena’s home,” Cas gestured through the portal.

Dean looked at the two women. Despite her insistence about carrying her he doubted that Charlene could carry Gilda. “I’ll carry her for you.” He noticed the possessive hand she laid on the other woman’s shoulder. “It’ll faster and I don’t know how long Cas can keep the door open.”

“Fine, but if you hurt her anymore than she already is.” She left it hanging and helped Dean pick Gilda up. Charlene spoke soothingly to the horses and took their reins. She led them through the portal with Dean following close behind. Cas came immediately afterward. 

It was an odd sensation stepping through the opening hanging in the air. There was a strong breeze on the mountain, but none in the forest. It was like stepping inside a building. Except that it was raining in the forest, so it was like stepping inside a building where it was also wet. It was a jarring change of sensations.  
The distance crossed is what really boggled Dean’s mind. He crossed over a week’s travel with a single step. The sudden swap of wind for rain was odd, but the distance thing made his mind hurt. He decided to deal with it later. Or possibly never.

The portal closing cut off the sound of the wind and left them with only the gentle patter of rain. Cas moved in front of him and opened the gate that blocked off Rowena’s yard. He closed it behind them once they were all through.

Rowena came storming out of the cottage before they’d crossed the yard. “You daft fools, what do you think you’re doing?”

Dean was taking aback. He’d seen her made before, his little attempt to stand before he was ready had shown him the woman had a sharp tongue. She had been angry with him, but kept herself composed. Now she was visibly angry. And it honestly scared him.

“What?”

“What possessed you to bring a fairy into my home?”

“Why…” is as much as Dean could get out before she slapped him.

“And a fairy of the court to boot. I put up wardings to keep them out for a reason.”

Princess Charlene stepped around Dean and raised her hand. “We’re here because I asked them. Gilda needs a healer and they recommended you.”

“And do you take into account at all the danger to yourselves? To me?” Rowena raged. “Did you think even for a moment about what will happen when her family shows up? ON MY DOORSTEP? No, of course you didn’t. You just waltzed in here and bring a disaster into my home. MY HOME! How dare you?”

Charlene drew herself up to her full height. “I am not accustomed to being addressed in such a manner.” Dean shrunk back from the tone in her voice. “Especially not by a witch.”

“And I am not accustom to having my home’s defences breached by those that I’ve helped.” She looked at Dean and Cas when she said that.

“You will help us because I demand it,” Charlene said. “And you will do it without this attitude.”

Rowena barked a laugh without any humour in it. “I think not little girl. What right do you order me in my own home?”

“I am princess Charlene and this forest is within my father’s kingdom. You will do as I say or I will have the palace guard down here to arrest you. Witchcraft is a crime.”

“You are a long way from the palace wee princess,” Rowena said darkly. “Try again.”

Charlene’s eyes widened and she opened her mouth to retort. Cas piped in before another tirade could begin again. Dean believed her when she had wasn’t used to being talked in the way Rowena was addressing her.

“Perhaps we should offer something else in exchange for her help?” He looked at the angry witch. “What would it take you to help Gilda?”

Rowena glanced over the unconscious fairy in Dean’s arms. She flicked her eyes back to Princess Charlene. “From her? An absolute royal pardon for all of my ‘crimes’, both past and future ones.”

“Witches have a reputation for a reason,” Charlene snapped. “Pick something else.”

“Then you may take your dying fairy elsewhere. I’ll deal with the Court when they show up on my doorstep. And I will be forth coming when explaining what happened here. They’ll find you wee girl. And they will not be nice.”

Dean only knew stories about fairies. The ones he’d been told in childhood had always made the fairies seem fun and pleasant, but mischievous. The ones he’d heard when he was older painted a darker picture. He didn’t want to meet an angry fairy. He also didn’t want to deal with an angry witch.  
“I think we need her help, Princess. Gilda is badly injured. Rowena’s the best healer for miles.”

“I’m the only healer for miles dearie.” Rowena smirked. 

“Fine,” Charlene snapped. “You can have a royal pardon for all crimes, except murder. If there is blood on your hand you will hang.”

“I’ll take that.” Rowena muttered something and spat into her hand. She held it out to Charlene. The princess looked at it for a moment with distaste. “Seal our contract Princess. Surely a little saliva mixing of saliva isn’t too high a price to pay.”

Charlene glared at Rowena and spat into her hand. “My word should be good enough for you witch.” She shook the witch’s hand. Dean didn’t see or feel anything, but suspected magic at work.

“We’ll just do this my way,” Rowena said. She pulled a cloth from her belt and wiped her hand. She carefully folded it and tucked it away. She didn’t offer Charlene anything. 

“I’ll be asking her for protection against the Court when she wakes,” Rowena told them. She looked at Cas. “I’ll be expecting you to keep your promise if she refuses.” The witch turned and walked back toward the cottage. “Bring her inside and I’ll see what I can do.”

*******

Rowena had kicked them out almost immediately once Dean had placed Gilda on a bed. Castiel wasn’t sure, but thought it might be the same one Dean had spent weeks in. Hopefully the fairy wouldn’t take as long to recover.

Castiel was slumped in a chair when Dean came out of the room. Princess Charlene was sitting with her hands folded neatly in front of her. Dean sighed and slid into a chair at the table that had given Castiel such a headache only a week before. 

“Guess we wait now,” Dean yawned. 

Castiel could sympathize with him. He felt as tired as the knight looked. Magic was natural to him, but he usually refrained from using it too much. Some of it was practical, why misuse it when there were other options? Some wizards wouldn’t do even the simplest task without casting spells. Castiel had always felt that he had two hands and could wash a table just as easy as a cloth as he could with a spell. A lot of his aversion to using too much magic was his concern about becoming a grand wizard. Now that wasn’t something he needed to worry about. Instead he could worry about the magic controlling his life. Or not, maybe he really could keep control and not be forced into a particular path. Regardless, he had used a lot of magic in a very short period of time. He was tired right now. Sleep would deal with that. 

Dean was going to need a lot more than just a nap though. He had been tossed around by a dragon, or by a fairy pretending to be a dragon. A nap would leave him stiff and sore when he woke. Rowena probably wouldn’t be sympathetic right now. She had been furious when they brought Gilda to her. Now that he knew what to look for, Castiel could sense the wardings all over the cottage and property. The fence line practically glowed with protective magics. Princess Charlene had threatened to bring the guards down on Rowena’s head. Castiel doubted their ability to even cross the yard if Rowena didn’t allow it. 

His mind was starting to wonder and Dean looked like he was fading fast. Charlene seemed lost in her own thoughts, but didn’t look like she was about to fall asleep at the table. Shaking his head, he pushed himself up. Dean gave him a questioning look.

“I’ll be right back,” Castiel assured him. A moment later Castiel came back in with the second of Rowena’s potions. “You should use this.”

Dean shook his head and pushed the potion away. “You take it. I’ve just been fighting. You need it more.”

It went back and forth for a few minutes before Charlene slammed her hands down. “Just split the stupid thing.”

Dean laughed quietly. “Yeah, that would work too.” He pushed the potion back toward Castiel again. “You first.”

Castiel carefully drank exactly half of the potion and handed the rest to Dean who upended it and drained the bottle. It didn’t take long for the potion to take effect. The fatigue drained away and he felt almost alive again.

“Alright, what happened?” Dean asked. “Princess,” he added hurriedly.

“Drop the princess bit,” Charlene said. “Call me Charlie. At least where my father can’t hear. Or my nurse, she’ll skin you alive for it.”

“Okay,” Dean said. “What happened Charlie?”

She sighed deeply. “Father wants me to marry. He has for some time now. He keeps bring these just awful knights.” She looked at Dean. “Sorry, no offense.”

“None taken,” Dean said easily. “Some of us can be bastards.”

“Some of them were nice,” she admitted. The princess glanced toward the door that Rowena and Gilda were behind. “I just didn’t want to marry any of them.”

A light went off in Castiel’s head. “Oh, you wanted Gilda.”

“Yeah, but father has his heart set on a knight. Gilda didn’t think he’d accept her as an option.”

“Did you arrange this whole thing?” Dean asked.

“It wasn’t suppose to turn out this way,” Charlie almost cried. “Gilda was suppose to carry me off and we’d spend a few weeks hidden away. Then I’d return and I’d claim she’d rescued me. Father couldn’t refuse than.”

“But I saw her at the tourney while you were being carried off,” Dean said in confusion. 

“That was my brother, wasn’t it?” Castiel asked. “He made an illusion of her so no one would suspect anything.”

“That was the plan,” Charlie said. “I don’t know how Gilda got him to help.”

“Probably did it for fun,” Castiel grumbled. “This is exactly the type of thing he loves to do.”

“Anyway,” Charlie continued. “Gilda said she could turn into a dragon to carry me away to where you found me. She’d taken some supplies there so we’d be comfortable while we were hiding. I don’t know why she didn’t change back. The longer we were there the more she acted like a dragon. She wasn’t herself anymore and I was getting scared. I kept hiding in the tunnels.”

“Not my area,” Dean said. “Any ideas Cas?”

“I can’t speak for fairies, but humans can get stuck in shapeshifted forms. Part of the spell keeps the mind intact, but over time it wears off. It’s possible for people forget they’re human entirely and become the animal permanently.”

“But why didn’t she change back when we got there?” Charlie asked. “That was the plan. I wouldn’t have agreed to the idea if I’d known I’d spend weeks holed up with an angry dragon outside.”

“I don’t know,” Castiel admitted. “It takes another spell to switch back. I don’t know why she couldn’t cast it.”

“Faeries draw their power from the forest,” Rowena told them. 

Castiel jumped in his seat. He hadn’t heard the woman approach. He hated being snuck up on.

“She drained herself getting to the mountains,” Rowena continued. “She didn’t have enough power to change back. You should have hidden away in a forest. Then she could have drawn on the forest.” The witch looked the three of them up and down. “You’re filthy. Bathe and than I’ll find something for you to eat. I think I have an old dress you can wear Princess.”

“How is Gilda?” Charlie demanded. 

“She’ll recover,” Rowena said. “Her arm is mostly a lost cause. I can save the function, but it’ll always be weaker. Iron and fairies don't mix all that well. But it was probably the best way to end the transformation spell. A clever move Princess."

"It was his idea," Charlie said pointing at Castiel. "I would have done it earlier if I'd known about it."

Rowena ignored the princess and continued. "The burns will never heal. Her eye is entirely a lost cause. If we’re lucky I’ll be able to regrow it enough that she won’t be disfigured. She’ll never see out of it again.”

“What about if my brother helped?” Castiel asked. “Like last time.”

“That man is not running around in my head again,” Rowena snapped. “I’ve already contacted him for advice. I suspect he’ll agree with me, but he might have some suggestions.” She turned to leave. “You know where the washing area is.”

Later that evening Castiel was sitting outside. The rain had stopped, but the scent of it remained in the garden. It was peaceful. Maybe he’d live in a place like this one day. Maybe Dean would be with him. That was a heady thought. 

The bench shifted under him as Dean sat down. He was clean again and there was the piny smell that Rowena added to her soap. It was a good smell for him. Another heady thought.

“I think this is yours,” Dean said. He passed the shield back to Castiel.

“Thanks.”

“I’ve never held a wizard’s staff before,” Dean said. “But I think it’s beautiful.”

Castiel smiled while looking down at the shield. He focused the image in his mind and pushed his will out. “Back you go.” The transformation back was a lot easier. It almost seemed like the staff wanted to be a staff again. 

“That was amazing,” Dean said. Castiel could hear the awe in his voice.

“It is pretty amazing, isn’t it?”

“Almost as much as you.” Dean kissed him. 

When they pulled apart Castiel realized where he knew the colour from. The stone running alone his staff was the same colour as Dean’s eyes.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit short, but it seemed like a good place to break. I think I'll be wrapping this up in the next few chapters.

Rowena had refused to allow them into the sick room until late in the evening. Gilda was still asleep, but all of her wounds had been cleansed and dressed. Her left arm was completely swathed in bandages and a huge bandage covered her left eye. She looked pretty bad and Dean felt some guilt about his part in her injuries.  
Charlie gasped and ran to Gilda’s side. She gently picked up her right hand and held it tightly. “Oh, Gilda.”

He felt Cas move closer to him. Dean pushed his shoulder into Cas’. He liked the physical contact and hoped Cas did too. Since the wizard didn’t pull away, Dean guessed he did. A moment later he felt Cas’ hand rub up and down his back. They stayed in the doorway and let Charlie have her time with Gilda. Dean wondered if Cas had stayed by his side like this during the days he was unconscious. He didn’t think he’d ever ask, but it made him feel safe to think the wizard had been there the whole time.

Rowena came in a few minutes later and shooed the three of them out of the room. “She needs her rest. I’ll let you know when she wakes up.”  
Charlie stood and stared down at the woman in the bed for a moment. When she turned back her face was composed. A look that Dean had seen often when visiting nobles had come to see his parents. 

“Thank you for what you’ve done,” Charlie said.

“Of course,” Rowena said stiffly. “I will hold up my end of our agreement.”

Charlie nodded curtly and stepped past her into the main room. The air felt significantly colder than it had a moment before. Dean decided that he was going to escape from this uncomfortable situation. He hoped that the two women wouldn’t be like this the entire time.

Gilda was awake the following morning. True to her word, Rowena woke them all the moment the fairy was awake. He quickly dressed and was surprised to see Cas already awake in the other room. He hadn’t expected to see the wizard until much later in the day. 

“Couldn’t sleep well,” Cas said to Dean’s unasked question. “Felt kind of guilty for what we did to Gilda.”

“Me too,” Dean said. “I know we didn’t know what was going on, but I still feel bad about hurting her. I really did a number on her.”

Cas gave him a hug and Dean felt a little better about the situation. “Guess we’ll just have to apologize for stabbing her.”

“What type of flower is best for that?” Dean asked.

“Daisies?”

He laughed into Cas’ neck and planted a kiss there.

Charlie was already in the room. There wasn’t a chance for him to get an apology out. Gilda immediately started talking when they came in. She was quite animated given how injured she looked.

“I must apologize for my actions,” Gilda started the moment they stepped into the room. “I had lost control and I am grateful that you didn’t slay me like the beast I was.” She squeezed Charlie’s hand. “I cannot thank you enough for your help. Things would have gone badly if you had not intervened.”

“I stabbed you in the face,” Dean said. “I don’t think you owe me an apology. I owe you one.”

“No,” Gilda said forcibly. “This is entirely my fault and none of you bear any responsibility. My current situation is entirely of my own making.”

“It’s okay,” Charlie said. “You didn’t mean for this to happen.”

“That doesn’t change that I am responsible.” She touched the bandages around her arm. “This is my doing, not yours.”

“What happened exactly?” Dean asked. 

“I’m not sure how much Charlie’s already told you,” Gilda said. “But her father wanted her to marry. Her sisters are already married and now it was her turn. He had allowed the others to choose from a group of suitors he selected. They’d all found a husband from the men he provided.”

“I’ve met my brothers in-law,” Charlie muttered. “My sisters settled.”

Gilda continued without acknowledging Charlie’s interruption. “The king provided many, many suitors for Charlie to choose from and she rejected them all. The tourney was sort of a last-ditch effort for him to give her the chance to choose. I think he’d have selected someone for her after that. It would have made everyone miserable.”

“Why not ask yourself?” Cas asked. “You’re a princess yourself. That has to be a good match.”

“She’s also a woman,” Charlie said. “Which is great for me, but father’s a bit stubborn about these things. It’s why we were going to have Gilda rescue me. It would satisfy the tradition of having the princess marry whoever rescues her. It’s true that it’s usually a man doing the rescuing, but none of the stories specifically say it has to be a man.”

“Clever work around,” Dean said. “Do you think it’d work?”

“I was hoping that he’d be so happy to see me come back that he wouldn’t question it,” Charlie said. “And that I’d finally chosen a suitor.”

“So you created the entire façade of being kidnapped by a dragon,” Cas said. “But what went wrong?”

Gilda hung her head. “I made a mistake. I forgot that I wouldn’t have the magic to return to this form in the mountains. Some humans can use magic through native talent, but most who can use it do so through special rituals. They have a pool of magic within them that they use for the spells. Fairies aren’t like that. Fairies are magic. We’re connected to the forest and draw on its magic. When I flew into the mountains I was so far away I was cut off. I was trapped and there wasn’t anything I could do.” She grabbed Charlie’s hand tightly. “I couldn’t stop myself. I tried, but it was so hard to think straight. I just couldn’t stop myself.” 

Charlie leaned in and pulled Gilda into a hug. “It’s okay baby. You’re safe now. I’m safe.”

Gilda whispered something, but Dean couldn’t make it out. He pulled on Cas’ sleeve and gestured with his head for them to leave. This wasn’t something they needed to watch.

Gilda’s recovery advanced faster than Dean’s. When he asked Rowena about it she laughed. 

“Of course she’s recovering faster, Dearie. She doesn’t have veins full of manticore venom.” The witch patted him on the back. “If it makes you feel better, I didn’t have to regrow an eye for you. Just most of your shoulder.”

Dean didn’t find that at all comforting and spent the rest of the day absent mindedly rubbing his shoulder.

Two days after they arrived, Gilda was allowed to walk in the kitchen and later in the evening Rowena allowed her into the yard. Charlie was by her side the entire time, but the fairy didn’t seem to need any help walking. She did a slow stroll through the garden and spent a little time sitting on the bench. Dean realized that he hadn’t seen Cas for a few hours now. He left the two women to their walk and went to find the wizard.

Cas was in the back of Rowena’s yard. Almost into the forest. Cas didn’t notice him approaching, so Dean got to see him petting a baby fawn. The mother noticed Dean and froze, but didn’t bolt away. He stopped walking toward them and took a step backward. This seemed to reassure the deer and she relaxed a little, but didn’t stop checking on him every few seconds. 

Cas was bent over speaking softly to the fawn. It seemed to enjoy the scratches and lifted its head happily into his hand. It bounced away for a few steps and than came back for more scratches. Cas seemed to be more than happy to provide them. 

Dean had been there for a few minutes before Cas noticed him. His face lit up with a smile and he waved. Cas turned to the deer and said something. He turned back and motioned Dean over.

“It’s okay. I let her know you were safe.”

Dean approached slowly and the deer eyed him warily. He wasn’t sure what Cas had told her, but she obviously didn’t fully trust him. When he was next to Cas the man took his hand and held it out toward the fawn. With some gentle encouragement the baby deer danced over to Dean’s hand and nuzzled it. 

“He likes his ears scratched,” Cas told him.

The fawn almost vibrated when Dean scratched gentle behind its ears. It danced in place for a moment and than bounded over toward its mother who decided play time was over and led it back into the trees.

“That was awesome,” Dean said. He’d never touched a baby deer before. He’d been hunting and taken down a stag, but this was very different. Better.

“They’re just so soft at that age,” Cas said. “His fur will harden as he gets older, but for now he’s almost as soft as a rabbit.” He looked at Dean and arched an eyebrow. “Want to go find some rabbits?”

“Yes. Yes I do.”

********

It took Rowena a week to be satisfied with Gilda’s recovery. All the small nicks and cuts over her body were gone. The large wound along her side was almost entirely healed. But the witch’s predictions about Gilda’s left arm were correct. The fairy could barely hold something as light as an apple without difficulty. The skin remained blackened. It wouldn’t recover beyond what it already had.

The same was true of her left eye. Whatever magic Rowena had used had done wonders. The eye had been completely ruined by Dean’s sword. Somehow the witch had regrown the eye. The colour of her eye had faded to a pale brown, giving the whole eye a milky appearance. There was the beginnings of a scar around the eye where the sword tip had struck. Rowena insisted that she keep the eye covered for most of the day, and only removed the bandage after the sun had gone down. Apparently the eye was sensitive to the light until it was fully healed. 

Anytime anyone asked her about how she was feeling Gilda brushed them off. She wouldn’t address her lingering issues and instead proceeded to apologize again for her mistakes. It was frustrating, because he thought she was ignoring her new reality, but there wasn’t much he could do. He wasn’t a healer so he left her physical recovery to Rowena and everything else to Charlie. 

Castiel knew that Rowena was happy with Gilda’s health when she started making hints about them leaving. The hints lasted for about an hour and than became more direct. He talked it over with Dean and then they went to talk with the women.

“We have two choices,” Dean said. “We can leave willingly soon. Or we can all wake up on the road with our stuff dumped next to us.”

“We can leave now,” Gilda said. She started scooting to the edge of the bed.

“No,” Charlie said. “You’re not ready. She can wait for us to leave. We’re paying her well for this. She’s getting a royal pardon from me and some protection from the  
fairy court from you. She can’t complain.”

“We paid her so she would heal me,” Gilda said gently. “I’m as recovered as I’m going to get in the short run. It’ll take months to fully recover. That’s not fair to her, and I don’t want to stay that long.”

“We could stay another week though,” Charlie argued. “That’s not unreasonable.”

“Except I won’t be any more recovered than I am right now.” She pulled Charlie down to sit on the bed next to her. “Are you just trying to avoid talking to your father?”

Charlie avoided eye contact. “Maybe. But I still don’t think you’re well enough.”

“He’s probably going to be mad no matter how long we wait.” Gilda grinned. “I did manage to mess this up pretty good.”

Charlie kissed her on the cheek. “We both did. I guess it’s best to pay the piper and be done with it.”

Castiel opened a gate the next morning. He had thought about it before offering to even cast the spell again. He didn’t feel as conflicted about it as he thought he might be. For most of his life he had avoided powerful magics because he didn’t want to be controlled by them, but he’d realized recently that he had been allowing the magic to do just that. Fear of being a grand wizard had dominated his view of his life for so long. If Lucifer was right, and he still felt odd about even thinking that, he needed to take control. He was the one that directed that magic and he got to choose how, or if, he used it. 

Gilda, despite her insistence otherwise, was still recovering. Rowena may be happy for her to travel, but they had a lot of ground to cover if they travelled by horse. And they only had two horses, at least for now. They would have to spend at least some time traveling on foot, which would further slow them down. They were looking at months of travel. Distance aside, the longer they were on the road the greater the chances of having to deal with unexpected problems. He and Dean had already dealt with a werewolf, bandits, a manticore, a kelpie and a dragon, kind of. Though if you listened to Dean, the worst thing they’d faced was a territorial squirrel. It was too risky to put Charlie and Gilda through that. Especially since he could provided a better option. It was a simple decision to come to when he laid it out to himself. 

The gate spun open and showed the road near Garth’s cabin. He had given some thought to where he should open the gate to. It needed to be a place he was familiar with, but they had spent so much time traveling that there were few places that would work. He settled on Garth’s cabin because of the spell he cast to see the werewolf’s aura. Garth’s aura hadn’t really imprinted on him, but Dean’s had. He could still see the vibrant green when he thought about it. And sometimes he thought he saw the flicker of Dean’s aura when he looked at the man. The whole experience had imprinted Garth’s home.

Dean stepped through first, just in case there was any danger waiting for them. Castiel thought that anything that was dangerous would probably be taken aback by the sudden appearance of a hole in space. He didn’t voice his opinion. Dean looked very attractive when he was being protective. 

Once Dean motioned that it was safe, Charlie and Gilda led the horses through and Castiel came behind them. He finished the spell and allowed the gate to swirl closed. He had been focused on the spell, so he hadn’t noticed the smell right away. There was a faint charred smell in the air. Looking around he saw where it came from. 

Garth’s cabin had burnt down. A single corner log remained, otherwise the fire had consumed the building to its foundation. He didn’t know how long ago the fire had started, but he doubted that it had been an accident. The dog kennel was also burnt. Someone had likely come and cleansed the place with flame. He was glad he had convinced Garth to leave. Otherwise the werewolf would likely be dead, and so would his dogs. Dean frowned when he saw the cabin, but didn’t say anything. Castiel suspected that the knights thoughts were similar to his own. 

“How far is it to the castle?” Charlie asked.

“A few days. Maybe four,” Dean said. “It took us two days to get this far, but both of us were riding. It’ll take longer with me walking.”

“Why just you?”

“You and Gilda will take Baby,” Dean said. “Cas will have his horse and I’ll walk.”

“It would be easier on the horses if they only had one rider,” Castiel said. “Charlie can have my horse and I’ll walk too.”

“I can walk as easily as you two,” Charlie said. “Gilda can ride, the rest of us can trade off.”

“Your father will kill me if I let you walk,” Dean said. “No princess walks that far. It just isn’t done.”

“It’s going to be done,” Charlie said firmly. “If I have to, I’ll pull rank. Princess trumps knight.”

“I’m a princess too,” Gilda said. “I can walk some of the distance too.”

“You don’t have a say,” Charlie told her. “You ride. Dean, Castiel and I will trade off walking. We’ll deal with father when we get home. He’ll probably kill us all anyway.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might have rambled a bit, but I think it got where I wanted it to. Hope you guys enjoyed it. 
> 
> Hope everyone had a safe holiday.

There had been far more argument over it than Dean had thought possible, but eventually both Princess Charlene and Lady Gilda were riding the horses while he and Cas lead the animals. They had been arguing most of the morning as they approached the first village that he and Cas had come to when they’d first set out. Charlie had insisted that she could walk as well as they could and wouldn’t be treated like a princess. She brushed aside any attempt to point out that she was, in fact, a princess. She only acknowledged it when she wanted to argue that as a princess she should get her way. Eventually they convinced her that the peasantry might recognize her, and wouldn’t understand why the princess was walking. She grumbled and agree to ride through the village. Though she would be walking after that, at least until they hit the chapel where he had set out for this quest.

The streets of the village were deserted like they had been last time he and Cas had ridden through. Instead of the villagers hiding in their homes, the streets were deserted because everyone was in the field. A large area of the grass had been cut down and tables had been dragged out. Even from the road Dean could tell they were covered with food. A platform had been erected and wooden posts framed it. Two people sat on chairs placed on the platform. Flowers were liberally strewn around. The villagers were in the midst of a major celebration. 

“I wonder what’s going on over there,” Cas said. “It’s not time for the summer solstice.”

“It’s big whatever it is,” Dean said.

Gilda snickered. She had taken Dean’s cloak and wrapped herself in it. She claimed her injuries didn’t bother her, but she didn’t want to upset the villagers. Dean wasn’t entirely sure that she had accepted the likely permanent damage that she’d sustained. 

While Gilda snickered, Charlie openly scoffed. “It’s a wedding. Haven’t you boys ever seen one before?”

“Just my older brother’s wedding,” Cas said. “There were less flowers.”

Dean had been dragged to a few weddings by his parents, but those had been very stuffy formal affairs. A big ceremony and than a party that he wasn’t allowed to attend. He wondered what a wizard’s wedding would look like. Probably lots of flashy magic and grand displays. Dean made a mental note to ask Cas about it later on.

“Well, flowers or not, that is a wedding. We could crash it if you want.”

“Charlie! No!” Gilda seemed genuinely shocked at the prospect. “It wouldn’t be right.”

“I’m royalty,” Charlie laughed. “I get to set the rules.”

They made their way along the lone street in the village and had just cleared the last building when they were spotted. A man disengaged himself from the group and ran toward them. He arrived puffing a few moments later. Dean recognized him as the man they’d spoken with the first time they’d come through. He was cleaner than last time. He was also dressed in his finest clothing. The fabric was still worn, but neater than what they’d seen him in last time. The man appeared very happy. And quite drunk.

“My lord, you’ve returned. Thank you for your service. We cannot truly repay you.”

“What service did he provide?” Charlie asked.

The man remembered he was in the presence of his betters and bowed deeply, lost his balance slightly and tried again. He was more successful the second time. Dean wondered how much the man had drunk.

“He slayed the beast that lived in the Western Woods. Killed it and its hellhounds.” The man tried bowing again. “Once the creature was gone the woods were no longer darkened by evil. I led the men up and we burned the unholy place down. The gods favoured us, not five days later my daughter returned. And Hedrick’s boy was with her.”

“Imagine that,” Cas said quietly.

“They’d met in the woods,” the man babbled happily on. “And to flee the evil had taken refuge in the abbey at Brightwood. They feel in love there and got married.” He furrowed his brow slightly. “It would have been better if they’d spoken to me and his father first, but it was an unusual time I guess. Fear and all. The abbot married them and they came home.” He gestured out at the field. “We gave them a real wedding though. Not some indoor affair. We’re people of the land and they should celebrate that way.”

“I’m glad it all worked out in the end,” Dean said. 

The man’s eyes lit up. “Could you come see my daughter? She really should see the man that saved her. You slayed a werewolf for her.”

“We should be going,” Dean said. 

“Nonsense,” Charlie said. 

“We can wait here,” Cas said helpfully. “Go see the woman you saved and than we can continue. It won’t take long.”

Dean glanced at Cas. The wizard was smiling. Over Cas’ shoulder Charlie was smirking. He was sure that Gilda was also smiling if he’d turned to look at her. 

“It won’t take but a moment,” the man insisted. “We can’t offer you much, but we can thank you properly.”

“Alright,” Dean conceded. “Lead the way.”

The man half lead, half stumbled back to the wedding. He babbled happily the entire way. The villagers seemed nervous when they saw Dean walking up. They moved out of his way and none of them seemed willing to approach. The man leading Dean didn’t take any notice of that and marched right up to the platform with its occupant. Both seemed young. Dean would eat his gloves if they were older than fifteen. 

“This is the knight that saved you. He slayed the beast that stole you away in the forest. You should thank him.”

The newly wed couple seemed uncomfortable. They glanced at each other briefly and than back at Dean. He caught the nervous glance they both gave the man standing next to him.

“Thank you,” the youth stammered. “We would have died out there if that creature hadn’t been killed.”

“We’re so grateful for it being gone now,” the girl chimed in. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. He noticed that she seemed a little thicker around the middle.

“It was my duty,” Dean nodded his head. “I am glad to have been of service.”

There was an awkward pause.

“I won’t intrude any longer on your celebration. Congratulations to you both.” 

“You should stay as the guest of honour,” the man at his side declared. “It’s only proper.”

Dean caught the worried look that crossed both the couple’s faces. It probably mirrored his own. He managed to regain his voice first. 

“I cannot,” he said. He hoped he sounded regretful. “I have a mission of the utmost importance and cannot delay. Even for so great an event.”

The man’s face fell. “Oh.” He brightened again. And ran over to one of the tables. He came back and held a pie out to Dean. “If you cannot stay, I insist you take this as a small token of my thanks. My daughter is safe and so is the future of our village.”

Dean accepted the dessert happily. It would make the man happy, and it was pie. He said his goodbyes to the couple, who seemed relieved at his leaving. It took him a few minutes of polite arguing to convince the man that he could make his way back to the road without an escort. 

“He seemed happy,” Gilda said when Dean got back.

“Very happy,” Cas said.

“Probably several cups of happy,” Charlie said.

“Yeah, he’s real happy right now,” Dean said. “I bet he’ll be less happy when he’s a grandfather in a few months.”

“That’s normal after a wedding,” Cas told him.

“A few months before that,” Dean clarified.

True to her word, Charlie had insisted on leading a horse the moment they were out of sight of the village. She hadn’t cared who rode the horse, as long as she wasn’t. They’d argued about it for a bit while all three of them walked along. Dean ended up riding and he wasn’t sure how that happened. He couldn’t remember the logic Charlie had used, but it seemed perfectly reasonable for him to be on a horse carrying pie. 

They made good time that day. He managed to bully Cas into riding the horse for awhile later in the day. It’d taken almost an hour of nagging, but he did it. The wizard was on his horse and Dean was leading it. Charlie looked almost absurd leading Baby. The horse was huge in comparison. Even Gilda looked like a doll on Baby’s back.

“We should camp here,” Dean said. He recognized some of the landmarks and knew what lay ahead. He didn’t want to go through the area at night.

“We still have at least another hour before the sun starts to set,” Charlie argued. “We could be a little closer to home by then. Or at least closer to a bath.”

“It’s dangerous ahead,” Dean told her. “Best to do it during the day.”

“Dangerous?” Gilda asked. “What’s so dangerous about the woods ahead?”

“Squirrels,” Dean said solemnly.

“Squirrels?”

“Squirrels.”

Dean wasn’t sure exactly how they knew, but an escort was waiting for them the moment they approached the castle walls. They obviously hadn’t been waiting for weeks, but their armour was too clean for that. They seemed to have arrived just in time to meet the small party. Part of him wanted to question it, but a greater part was glad to see the escort. Getting to the castle proper would be far easier with someone else to make a path through the gawking crowd.

Dean hadn’t said much the last few miles. They’d passed the small chapel where he had spent a night in contemplation. Charlie had accepted riding from the point on, but had groused about it. Her constant low grade complaining had left him alone with his thoughts. His quest was almost at an end and that should be something to be happy about. But he wasn’t. His quest was coming to an end, but that wasn’t the only thing. Cas had agreed to come along for the quest. Well, he had been forced by his brother to come along. Maybe he wouldn’t want to stay once the quest was over. Dean wasn’t sure what to do about that. Or even think about it. He’d grown attached to the wizard over the last few weeks. More than attached. He wasn’t sure he was ready to face the road ahead without him.  
The gates to the castle were wide open when they approached. Charlie and Gilda were assisted down from the horses and the entire party was led through the halls to stand outside the throne room. They were announced and ushered inside.

Dean had grown up in his father’s court. He had learned who to approach first; his father. Who to speak to second; his mother. How to act; not at all like he wanted to. None of that prepared him for this court. Physically the hall was much bigger than what he had been used to, easily four times as big. And it was full. His father’s court had rarely had more than a few people in attendance. There were at least a hundred people in the room with them right now. It was unsettling. He did his best to ignore them, he knew most of them wouldn’t be important. The most important person was the man sitting on the throne at the far end of the hall. Though, the two men standing behind the throne were also important. Judging by the sword, one was an important member of the guard. He recognized the other man as Gabriel. Though the grand wizard was dressed more ornately than he had been the last time Dean had seen him. The man on the throne was the king, and that meant he had to be Charlie’s father. There wasn’t a lot of physical resemblance that Dean could see. He was short with dark hair, which was rapidly receding. His voice was gravely and held the same sarcastic tones that his daughter’s had. 

“Welcome home my daughter.”

Charlie curtseyed. “Father.”

“And Lady Gilda as well,” the king nodded toward the fairy. He blinked when he noticed Dean and Cas. “You must be the ones I owe the safe return of my daughter to.”

“Technically, just him,” Cas said. “He was the one tasked with the quest of returning your daughter.”

“Really?” the king focused in on Dean. “You have my thanks. You shall be rewarded for this. I will be honoured to accept you as my son inlaw.”

Dean felt the bottom of his stomach drop away. “Your son inlaw?”

“Yes,” the king said. “It’s tradition for whoever rescues the princess to marry her.”

“Oh, well,” Dean stammered. “I don’t know.”

He was spared trying to give all the reasons that he didn’t want to marry Charlie by a commotion from behind him. He was relieved by the distraction, he wasn’t sure he could explain all the reasons anyway.

The doors to the throne room had been thrown open and the guards stationed at the door were speaking quietly to a small party. The guards were speaking quietly. 

The woman who led the party was not speaking quietly.

“I do not care what your orders are boy. They do not apply to me.”

Two guards were trying, unsuccessfully, to bar the door to a small woman in a green and blue gown. She seemed to shimmer where she stood. He immediately had the thought that what he was seeing wasn’t what the woman looked like at all. Behind her were two other women and a young man. The women were heavily armed. Dean could count at least six blades and three bows among the two of them. There was a physical resemblance between the young man and the imperious woman arguing. He seemed unarmed, but Dean wouldn’t bet that the young man wasn’t as dangerous as the other three.

“Out of my way.” The woman gestured and the guard in front of her collapsed. His clothes crumpled to the floor. His spear clattered along the floor. An instant later the fuzzy length of a ferret crawled out of the clothes. The woman paid no attention to the creature and stepped over it. The ferret darted toward the door.

“You’ll want to follow him so he doesn’t get stuck somewhere when the spell wears off.” The woman snapped her fingers. “Claire. Jodi.” 

The two women took up position on either side of the door and held a bow in front of them. Neither nocked an arrow, but Dean didn’t doubt they could draw one almost instantly. The other guard looked at them and stepped aside to let the blonde woman take his place.

“Kevin, with me.”

The woman didn’t walk forward. She flowed. With purpose. She never seemed to move, she was just suddenly where she wasn’t. Dean felt his skin crawl. 

“Your man will be fine,” she explained. “Though, he might be a bit twitchy after this. I came as soon as I heard my daughter was returned home. Mine too.”

The king stood as the woman approached. He bowed deeply. “Your majesty. If I’d known you were coming I’d have prepared a proper welcome.”

The woman waved the king off. “It’d have been less fun if you’d known I was coming.” She smiled. Dean didn’t like the whiteness of her teeth. He felt like they were pointed, even though they weren’t.

The king clapped his hands. “A chair for the queen.” He nodded to the woman. “I assume you wish to join me as our children recount their adventure.” He held out his hand to the woman.

“Of course,” the woman accepted the offered hand. 

The pair exchanged pleasantries and completely ignored the rest of the room. A few servants scurried in with a chair and set it up next to the throne. When it was set up the king assisted her in sitting down.

“Now,” the king said. “What happened? Perhaps you should start.”

“If I may,” the woman said. She looked at Gilda. “Clothe yourself properly daughter, you’re embarrassing yourself.”

Dean heard Gilda sigh. The fairy hadn’t removed his cloak the entire time. She’d said very little since they’d met the escort.

“Of course, Mother.” Gilda pulled Dean’s cloak away. None of them had had any time to clean themselves, but Gilda’s gown was perfect. Not a smudge or stain on it. Her injuries were gone as well. Her left arm was unharmed and moved as easily as her right. The light streaming through the windows caught her eyes and lit them both up. 

“That’s better,” the woman said. “A daughter of the Court shouldn’t let herself be seen so….poorly.”

“Of course, Mother.”

“Now, let’s hear your story.”

Dean began his tale from his perspective. Cas chimed in now and again to clarify points. Both the king and the woman remained silent during his story. Once he was done they turned to Charlie and Gilda and demanded their side of the story. The whole process took over an hour. 

“I see,” said the woman. “I suppose we should be preparing for a wedding soon.”

“I’d thought much the same,” the king said.

Dean felt his stomach drop again. He wasn’t able to explain why he didn’t want to marry Charlie the first time around, he didn’t think he’d be able to do it to both of them.

“Father, I don’t want to marry Dean.”

“It’s tradition daughter,” the king said. 

“Agreed,” Gilda’s mother said. “She must marry, but not the knight. That would be entirely inappropriate.”

“He rescued her, so he marries her,” the king said flatly.

“No, she rescued my daughter.”

“What? Your daughter kidnapped mine.”

“Yes, but that was part of their plan.” The woman glanced down at them. “A terrible plan I might add. But my daughter became trapped and needed saving. It was your daughter her saved her. So she rescued my daughter. So she must marry mine. I’m sorry little knight, but you cannot have the princess’s hand. It wouldn’t be proper.”

Dean didn’t know what to say to that. He decided to stay quiet. 

“This is unusual,” the king said.

“It is,” the woman admitted. “But think of the benefits of uniting your kingdom with the fairy court. There are advantages. Though I don’t think either of our daughters should be allowed to rule anything for awhile yet.”

“True,” the king mused. “They are not ready for that. They both need to grow up a bit more.”

Dean glanced sideways at Cas. He seemed as confused as everyone else in the room. The only ones who seemed to understand what was happening were the two sitting on the thrones.

“The queen and I need to discuss the details,” the king said. “Charlene, please show our guests to their quarters.” The king stood and looked over at Gabriel. “I would speak with you after this is done wizard. I have a few questions.”

“Don’t go far sir knight,” the queen said. She smiled. Dean did not like the smile. “We must discuss how you mutilated my daughter.”

*******

Castiel was shown to a lavish suite of rooms. Far more room than he needed. The bedroom alone was the size of Rowena’s entire cottage. There was even a chamber to receive guests in. He had no idea how many guests he would be entertaining while here, but he had more than enough space to do it with.   
He took a long bath. Rowena had provided the practical part of bathing, just getting clean. Being able to soak for a longer period of time was nice. He enjoyed it. The closest he had come to being able to soak like this was his dunk into the kelpie’s lake.

Someone had brought him clean clothes while he had been bathing. They were nicely tailored, and like the rooms, entirely too much. The design and cut of the fabric was of the highest quality, but the tailor had gone above and used gems and gold to further decorate. He was positive that he’d seen lockboxes with less gold in them. Unfortunately, his normal clothing had been taken away, so he dressed in what was available. 

There was a knock at the door. He was in the sleeping area and almost didn’t hear it. The knock came again as he made his way through the visiting area. He had almost made it to the door when it opened and Dean stuck his head inside.

“Oh, I didn’t know if you were here or not.”

“I was in the back,” Castiel explained. “These rooms are too big.”

“Mine too.” Dean stepped inside and closed the door. “Even back home I don’t have this much space. It’s nice, but a bit much.”

“We can enjoy it for a bit though,” Castiel said. “We won’t be staying here forever. Especially now that you won’t be able to marry Charlie.”

“Yeah, that works out well,” Dean said. He flopped down in a chair. “She’s nice, but I didn’t want to marry her.”

“It would have gotten you some tutors for Sam though.” 

“I’ll find some other way,” Dean told him. “The king might offer some sort of reward for Charlie’s safe return. Though this whole situation is messed up. I get that seer’s vision now.”

“Missouri?”

“She said that we wouldn’t be happy when we found out about the dragon. And she was right. Have you talked to your brother about it yet?”

“Not yet,” Castiel said. He hadn’t figured out how to corner Gabe about it. “I plan to do that later. I have no idea what he was thinking. Things worked out in the end, sort of, but so much could have gone wrong. We could have killed Gilda. Charlie could have been eaten by Gilda.”

“I could have killed Gilda,” Dean corrected. “You didn’t stab her in the face.”

“I helped with that fight,” Castiel argued. “And would have my own share of guilt if things had gone differently.”

“She would have probably killed me if it had gone on much longer.”

“I think you’d have won,” Castiel said. “You’re too good not to have.”

Dean blushed. “Thanks.”

They sat in silence for a little bit. It wasn’t uncomfortable. It was like they were on the road again. Castiel found himself missing that peace. He almost brought up to Dean, but there was another knock at the door. This one was firmer and more insistent. 

It was the young man, Kevin he thought. Neither of the women were with him. “My Lady requests your presence,” he said. “As soon as its convenient.”

Castiel knew that was noble code for ‘drop what you are doing and come right now’. It would be a bad idea to not follow immediately. Being turned into a ferret would be the least of his worries. “Of course, lead the way.”

“I meant him,” Kevin clarified. “You are welcome to come if you wish, but the queen wishes to speak with the knight.”

“Oh,” Dean said. “Um, I’m ready now too.”

“Good.” Kevin turned to step away. “Claire will be so disappointed you didn’t run. She was hoping to start a wild hunt on you.”

“A wild what?”

“It’s when the fairies hunt someone,” Castiel explained. “They’ve been known to run their prey into the ground. There’s no escape once a hunt has been called.”

“I’m glad I didn’t run.”

“Would you like me to come with you?”

“Yes." Dean grabbed his hand. Castiel wasn't sure he could have stayed behind if he wanted to. And he didn't want to.

The Queen of the fairies had been given quarters that were even more lavish than the ones Castiel had been given. He wasn’t surprised at that, she was of higher rank than he was. It was just surprising that the quarters existed at all. More rooms, larger sitting areas and a balcony that overlooked the courtyard. There were also a half dozen servants buzzing around. Gilda sat off to one side. The blonde fairy, Claire Castiel thought, was standing behind her. The older fairy was near the queen.  
If it hadn’t been for his training and talent, Castiel would not have recognized the woman as the queen. It was easy to forget that fairies changed their appearance like someone might change their shirt. The queen was taller, over six feet and had changed her dress for one made of almost transparent fabric. It didn’t reveal anything, but it didn’t really conceal anything either. Her hair was now a light purple. The smile was the same though. 

Dean didn’t seem phased when he walked into the room. He glanced around the room and took everyone in before returning his gaze to the queen. He bowed deeply to her. 

“You summoned me?”

“I did,” the queen said. “If I hadn’t Jodi wouldn’t have let you in. We have business to discuss. Well, more of a punishment really.”

Neither of them said anything. Castiel thought it was best to let the queen do most of the talking. 

“Gilda insists that her injuries are her own fault, and they are really. But you still stabbed her my little knight and that cannot be left unpunished. I would be the laughing stock of the Court if I let such things slide. No, that won’t do at all.” 

The queen flitted about the room as she spoke. Servants kept dodging out of her way and almost dropping whatever they were carrying. She never seemed to notice. Castiel noticed she never stopped looking at Dean, and he didn’t care for that look. He wasn’t stupid enough to say anything about it though. At least not yet.

“Claire is voting for a wild hunt,” the queen said. “It would be fun to chase you down. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a hunt. I saw your horse too. A beautiful beast. One that I would love to have in my stables, but if we invoked the hunt I would have to kill it. And that would be a shame. Perhaps that could be the   
price? Your horse for my daughter’s injuries?”

Dean paled slightly. Castiel saw the tremor in his jawline.

“Baby isn’t going to be traded for anything,” Dean said firmly. Castiel was impressed with how calm he kept his voice.

“Really?” The queen smiled. There were too many teeth for an instant. “Perhaps something else than. Do you have any children?”

“No,” Dean said. 

“A pity. That’s such a traditional way to solve these things. You give me a child and I raise it as my own. Would you be willing to trade you first born for this slight?”

“No,” Dean said again. “This is my punishment. I won’t have anyone else carry it.”

“Not even your wizard friend there?” The queen asked. “I could invoke the wild hunt on him. You’d be safe. Your horse would be safe too.”

“No. My punishment. No one else gets punished. Especially not him.”

The queen looked out onto the balcony. “Interesting.” She was quiet for an almost painful length of time. 

The queen spun back to face them. Her hair lengthened and turned a deep green. The gown flared out briefly before wrapping itself around her. When she finished her flourish she was dressed in a cloak of leaves.

“I have it.” Her smile came back. “A child really should be involved with this. Since you won’t give me yours I have to give you one of mine.”

“I thought you were marrying Gilda to Charlie.”

“Charlie?....oh princess Charlene. Oh no. Not her. I have more than one child.” She clapped her hands together. “You will take my son Jack. Not now. At least not for awhile.” 

Clouds rolled over the sun and the room was pitched into gloom. The queen’s smile was brilliant in the dark. 

“I will come to you in time. It will not be today. Or tomorrow. Perhaps next season or the one after that. You will raise my son as if he were your own.” She laughed as a cold wind blew through the open door. “Raise him well knight. I will be most displeased if you fail.”


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter speeds ahead quite a bit. I hope it's coherent. 
> 
> Sorry about the delay with posting this. Work has been exhausting.

Dean had always wanted to be a father one day. He had never thought that the child he would raise would be a faerie changeling. He wasn’t quite sure how to wrap his head around that information. The queen had dismissed him almost immediately after announcing his ‘punishment’. Then she hadn’t spoken to him at all. 

A week later he saw her walking in the halls with Kevin. 

“How is Jack?”

Dean blinked. “What?”

“How is my son?” The queen looked annoyed. “My baby boy that you are raising? Ring a bell little knight? If he’s come to harm I will very upset.”

“My queen,” Kevin said quietly. “You haven’t sent Jack to him yet. You just told him about it a few days ago.”

“Oh, did I?” The queen smiled at Dean. “I’m sure you’ll raise him just fine.”

She swept off down the hallway Kevin in tow. The encounter was odd. He brought up to Gilda when he and Cas had lunch with her and Charlie.

“Faeries have a different way of viewing time than humans do,” Gilda explained. “Most of us can adjust, but mother has a harder time than most. She remembers the future and forgets when she is sometimes.”

“It’s driving father’s advisors up the wall,” Charlie laughed. “She keeps continuing conversations they haven’t had yet. I think father finds the whole thing amusing.”  
“How are the wedding plans coming along?” Cas asked.

“Haven’t a clue,” Charlie said. “I’ll just be told when and where to be. It’d be nice to have some input, but,” she dropped her voice a few octaves, “It’s between the heads of the families and isn’t any of your concern.”

“My mother was the same when Michael married,” Cas said. “Prior to the wedding, I don’t think he even knew any of the details except for the date.”

“I suppose there’s less things to mess up if you don’t know anything,” Gilda said. 

“I don’t know,” Dean said. “I think I’d like to actually plan some of my own wedding.”

“You’ll get to,” Charlie said. “You’re the head of your house. It also means you get to plan your brother’s wedding. Though if it’s anything like what my father is doing, it’ll mostly be deciding what land goes to who and who gets what part of what treaty. It’s all really dull.” She shrugged. “At least I assume it is, I’m not suppose to worry about it.”

A few days later Dean was summoned by the king. The man that came to collect him led him to a large study. It was smaller than the throne room, but not by much. He felt like he walked for miles past shelves of books, maps and some odd trinkets. Eventually he reached the king. The man sat behind a huge table littered with papers. He motioned for Dean to wait a moment while he continued to scribble down notes. 

“Alright.” The king dropped his quill into the ink pot and massaged his hand. “We’ll have an official ceremony about this later on in a few days. I hate to have people surprised about this sort of thing, so I’ll tell you now. Thank you for your role in returning my daughter to me. I admit that this isn’t how the story usual goes, but my daughter is anything but usual.” The king laughed a little. “I suppose she does keep things interesting.”

Dean wasn’t sure how to respond. Charlie certainly wasn’t like any noble he’d ever met, but saying that out loud might not be the best idea. Even if it was true.  
“Normally I would be preparing to accept you into the family,” the king waved at the papers on the table. “But now I’ll be accepting Gilda into the family instead. Not unhappy about that, but I might lose half the kingdom to her mother’s shrewd negotiations.”

“Umm….sorry?” 

The king waved it away. “Not your concern. I cannot offer you part of my kingdom for rescuing my daughter. Instead I have a slightly more unorthodox offer. I would like to appoint you my daughter’s champion. More of an honourific title than anything, I doubt she’ll need your sword given the woman she’s marrying.”

“I would be honoured,’ Dean said. “When would I assume my duties?”

“The wedding will be set for four years from now,” the king said. “I love my daughter, but she is not ready to rule over anything right now. Neither is Gilda if their little stunt is any indication. You’ll assume your duties at that point.”

Dean’s heart sunk. He almost had the patron he needed for Sam and now it was dangling just out of reach. It was going to come too late. Sam would be 16 by the time Dean had access to the tutors.

*******

Castiel had a seat of honour next to Charlie during the ceremony. Dean looked amazing while the king bestowed the honour of being the princess’ champion on him. His armour had been polished so it shone. 

“I know he looks good,” Charlie nudged him. “But you’re drooling and people are going to stare.”

Castiel blushed and dipped his head. “I didn’t think I was being obvious.”

“He’s shiny enough right now that I don’t think people can really see anything except spots.”

Charlie found Castiel during the celebration held after the ceremony. She had a flustered looking Dean in tow. He smiled when he saw Dean, he couldn’t help himself.

“Finally,” Charlie huffed. “We’ve been looking all over for you. I had to drag this one away from the attentions of more than one lady.”

“She was so old Charlie,” Dean almost whined. “And her dress was so small.”

Castiel arched an eyebrow. “I don’t think I want to the details.”

“You don’t,” Charlie assured him. “Lady Ordin makes some questionable choices in her wardrobe. The broach was very pretty though, wasn’t it Dean?”  
Dean shuddered. “But why was it there? Why did she put it there?”

“Oh, there’s Gilda. She’s prettier than you two.” Charlie smirked and disappeared into the crowd.

Castiel nudged Dean to one side of the room and then into the hallway. “So, Champion, eh?” He liked how Dean smiled and blushed. “Bit of a promotion from Rescuer Of Soggy Wizards.”

“I like that title,” Dean said. He pulled Castiel into a hug, though not too tightly, he hadn’t had a chance to change and hugging against armour wasn’t comfortable. 

“Though I guess it would be Rescuer of Soggy Grand Wizards now.”

“Doesn’t really roll of the tongue, does it?”

“Not really, but I still like it.”

Castiel leaned in and kissed Dean. They stayed like that for a moment before he pulled back. 

“Now what?” 

“I was hoping to keep doing that for a bit longer,” Dean said.

“I meant in the bigger sense. What will you do now? You have your new title.”

“I go home I guess,” Dean sighed. “I need to find a way to provide for Sammy’s education. The position the king has given will help, but not for a few years yet. I’ll need to figure something out in the meantime.”

“When will you leave?”

“Soon.”

“That makes sense, you must miss your brother.” Castiel nodded his head toward the noise of the party. “I could do with a bit longer of a break from mine I think.”

“Come with?” Dean asked. “It’s not quest, but I’d love to have you meet Sammy. I think he’ll like you.”

“That’s fair, you’ve met most of my brothers, I should get a chance to meet another Winchester. I wonder if he’ll take my spoons too.”

“Those spoons are mine.”

They said their goodbyes the following day and left in the early afternoon. Gabriel was shocked almost to silence when Castiel showed up in his room before noon.

“To what do I owe this pleasure brother? Upright, clean and talkative before the sun has fallen to evening.”

“I don’t sleep that late,” Castiel grumbled. “I’m leaving this afternoon and wanted to say goodbye before heading out.”

“So eager to return to mother?” Gabe asked. “I plan to delay that lecture until much later. Despite how annoyed he is with me about my part in his daughter’s kidnapping, the king isn’t nearly as creative as mother will be.”

“You are a grown adult and still have to be chastised by our mother. What is wrong with you?”

“The list is long and sullied. It would take days to recount it all.”

“I’m going to miss you. Especially after mother murders you.”

“Nonsense,” Gabe said. “She’ll be too busy bragging about you baby brother. You the latest grand wizard of the family. She’ll be over the moon.”

“She won’t forget, she never does.”

“She might if you take that shiny knight of yours with you.”

“Think she’ll like him?”

“I don’t think it would stop you if she didn’t.”

Traveling with Dean was interesting. They’d had quite the adventure on their way to rescue Charlie. Compared to that, this trip was boring. Nothing happened at all. Long days of easy conversation and nights spent by the fire talking before turning in for the night. They could have traveled faster with magic, but he didn’t want to. And Dean didn’t ask.

Eventually they came to the Winchester lands. They were small and Dean apologized for the lack of grandeur. To Castiel, who knew almost nothing about these things, the peasants seemed fine. Definitely cleaner and healthier than the ones they’d passed on their journey. The fields were planted and the few animals looked healthy as well. It looked like Dean was doing a fine job of keeping his lands going. He said as much.

“All Bobby’s doing,” Dean said. “He did most of the day to day stuff when my father was still alive, and taught me what I know about it. But he’s the one that keeps everything going.”

Castiel had built up an image of Bobby from Dean’s stories. Dean spoke highly of him. While traveling he had wondered if Bobby would live up to those stories. Moments after meeting the man he decided it was all true. The man called out a gruff greeting from inside the stable as the rode up. 

“About time you came back boy. Don’t track shit into the house.”

Dean’s eyes widened and he glanced at Castiel. Castiel bit his lip and tried not to laugh. A moment later he got his first look at Bobby. The man was older than Castiel expected, there were a great many lines along the man’s face. His beard was more grey than brown. Yet he moved with the determination of a much younger man. Bobby’s eyes narrowed slightly when he saw Castiel.

“And we have a guest,” he growled under his breath. “Welcome to the Winchester’s home. Will you be staying for dinner?”

“He will,” Dean said. “As long as he likes.”

Castiel liked the warmth that that statement brought. He didn’t have much time to revel in it. 

“DEAN!”

Castiel looked over to see a very tall boy caught in that awkward stage between being a child and being an adult running across the yard. 

“Sammy,” Dean yelled back. He managed to get off Baby in time to catch his brother in a hug. There was some rough back slapping before they let go.

“Sam this is Castiel. Cas, this is my brother Sam.”

“It’s nice to meet you Sam,” Castiel said.

Sam glanced him up and down. Looked at Dean and than back at Castiel. He broke in a big smile. “About time. Glad to meet you.”

Castiel blinked in confusion. 

“Everyone into the main house,” Bobby said. “I’ll take care of the horses. Don’t track sh…mud everywhere.”

Over dinner Sam made Dean recount his adventure. Then he made Castiel tell the entire story over again from his perspective. Eventually Dean had to cut him off. 

“Sammy, let it go. We can tell you again later.”

Sam sighed and muttered in elvish. 

“What was that?” Dean asked.

Sam repeated it more clearly.

Castiel laughed. 

“What did he say?” 

“His pronunciation is a bit off,” Castiel said. He repeated the word and emphasized the long vowel sound. **It isn’t nice to call your brother a jerk**

Sam’s jaw dropped. “You speak elvish?”

“I had some good tutors growing up. Mother insisted.”

“I wish mine could teach me that. I’ve mostly been learning from books.”

Castiel caught the pained look on Dean’s face. “You’re doing very well for someone who’s self taught. I could help you a bit if you’d like. I’m rusty with reading, but can speak it well enough.”

“That’d be great.”

A week passed and Castiel settled in comfortably to the routine. Bobby ran almost everything. The man knew what was happening and when it was happening. He also seemed to know that it wasn’t happening to his liking and took steps to fix that. Castiel was sure that he knew how many birds were in any given tree on the Winchester lands. For a man so integral to the workings of the estate it was amazing how hard he was to find. He was simultaneously everywhere and nowhere. Castiel never really needed Bobby for anything, but was always surprised to find the man walking out of a building when the wizard would have sworn he had been in the main kitchen.

Sam’s day was mostly consumed with books and lessons. He had put up a fuss the days right after Dean had arrived home, but the knight had been firm. Lessons were more important. He almost had to drag his brother back to his books. Sam complied more when Castiel began helping him with his elvish. Sam’s tutor was happy to have his help. Castiel instantly disliked the man. He was clearly well educated, but also incredibly lazy. Castiel also suspected he was dipping into the wine cellar. 

Dean’s days were taken up with trying to run the estate with Bobby’s guidance. He would ride out during the day and return in the evening after dealing with whatever problems that needed his attention. He was always apologetic about having to leave for most of the day, but Castiel assured him it was fine. There was a lot to do and he understood. Dean still seemed guilty about it.

They had the evenings together and Castiel had begun to cherish that time. Sometimes they’d would walk around the house. There were a few small gardens, all of them growing practical herbs. There was an orchard nearby that they’d strolled few a few times. Even the night they spent inside because it had been pouring rain was a pleasant one. Dean got a good fire going. He enchanted the flames so they showed the images as he told Dean and Sam some old folk tales.

After two weeks he knew he needed to see his mother. He had been putting it off, but there was only so long that he could ignore it. If he waited much longer she would come to him. And that would not be a good thing. He had no doubt she knew where he was, at least roughly. She always seemed to know where her children were. 

“I should go see mother,” he told Dean one evening.

“Oh,” Dean said. He set the account he’d been looking over down and sat up in his chair. 

“I’ll come back,” Castiel said. “But she’ll come looking for me if I don’t go to her first.”

“Do you want me to go with you?”

“That would be nice, but I should tell her about everything first. Gabe has probably already blabbed about me being a grand wizard now and she’ll want to talk about that. I don’t want to subject you to that.”

“How long do you think you’ll be gone?”

“A week? Maybe more. I’m not sure.”

“How far away do you live? Can you get there in a week?”

Castiel laughed and held up his staff. “Wizard. Remember? Distance doesn’t slow us down quite as much.”

Dean laughed with him. “You’ll come back soon though, right?”

“As soon as I can.”

“My son, you’ve come home.”

“Of course mother.”

Naomi Novak was an imposing woman. She wasn’t particularly tall and her voice wasn’t particularly loud, but she demanded attention when she entered a room. Just by being there. She radiated power and confidence. Like most wizards she carried her staff with her, though in recent years it was used more as a walking aid than as symbol of her power. There wasn’t a soul alive who was dumb enough to tell her that though. 

“Come. There’s tea in the den. I want to hear everything.” She glanced at the staff in his hand and smiled. “Don’t worry. There’s plenty of tea.”

“Absolutely not,” Naomi said firmly.

“We could help him,” Castiel said. “Libraries full of books and tutors to teach him.”

“Those tutors are for family Castiel,” Naomi said. “Family only. It’s one of the rules and I cannot break it.”

“You’re telling me that we can’t help Dean’s brother because of an archaic rule?”

“It’s more than tradition,” she explained. “It’s an enchantment built right into the walls. The tutors won’t teach anyone who isn’t family.”

“You’re the head of the family,” Castiel tried. “You could undo that. Let Sam study here.”

“This means a great deal to you, doesn’t it?” 

“Yes. Sam will suffer if he doesn’t get the lessons. And Dean will suffer too.”

“You wish me to open our libraries and offer our tutors to a boy who is not family?”

“Yes.”

“Then my answer is clear.” She set he teacup down. “No.”

Castiel stood angrily. “Then I’ll teach him myself.”

“Sit down and talk about this. You’ll find a solution that won’t break the rules.”

“I will not support rules that are nonsense.” He stormed toward the doors of the den. The huge doors swung shut with a resounding bang.

Naomi calmly poured another cup of tea. “Sit down Castiel. I wish to find out if you are being stupid or deliberately obtuse.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I am your mother and the head of this family. I do not need to explain my decisions to you. Now sit.” She stirred honey into her tea and took a sip. “We have a great deal more to talk about before Michael returns.”

“Why is Michael coming?” Castiel asked warily.

“I’ve asked him to speak with Dean,” she said. “Gabriel has told me something of the man, but I’d like a more impartial judgement. Gabriel is fickle. Michael is not.”

***

Dean had found an elvish dictionary among Sam’s lesson supplies. He had snuck off with it and had been searching through it. He’d hoped to find the word that Cas had corrected Sam on. His brother refused to tell him what it meant, but kept using it. He even used the corrected pronunciation. He was about halfway through the book and still hadn’t found it. He might be wasting his time, but at least it was something to do until Cas came back. He sighed and set the book down. He carefully stretched his neck to work out the kink that had been forming there. 

He glanced out the window of the study into the field near the orchard. He smiled when he thought of the walks he took with Cas through the trees. Especially the ones where they could convince Sam to stay home. 

The sky abruptly darkened. Black clouds rolled across the sky. There was a clap of thunder and a bolt of lightening snaked down to strike the ground near the orchard. The lightening flung dirt and other debris into the air. When it cleared he could see a tall man striding away from the trees. His cloak flared around him and for a moment Dean thought he had wings. In his right hand he carried a huge spear. The tip was glowing a brilliant blue. The man pointed the spear as he walked.

“WINCHESTER. COME FORTH. I CHALLENGE YOU FOR THE HONOUR OF MY BROTHER!”


	22. Chapter 22

Dean ran into the main hall. He met Sam coming down the stairs. 

“What is going on?”

“I don’t know. Stay inside.”

“Who is that?”

“Pretty sure it’s Cas’ older brother.”

“Why is he here?”

“Don’t know. I’ll deal with this.”

Dean stepped outside. The man had almost reached the main house. He was dressed in armour that didn’t seem to be weighing him down at all. As he approached closer Dean could see the family resemblance. No question, this was Cas’ brother Michael. And he didn’t look happy, but he didn’t look angry either. He had the blank face of a soldier. This probably wasn’t going to go well.

The man stopped a few dozen feet away. He stamped his spear into the ground. The tip flared for a moment and arcs of lightning ran down it before leaping to the ground. The air around Dean started to smell like it did after a thunderstorm. 

“Why are you here?”

“For my brother’s honour. I come to test the mettle of the man my brother speaks so highly of.”

“You’re Michael right?” Dean was stalling. He knew it and the other man had to know it. He needed a plan and nothing was coming to mind.

“Yes. I am Michael, battlemage of the first battalion. There are other titles,” a slight smile touched his lips, “but we don’t have time for all of them. Besides, I am not here as the commander of the first battalion. I am here as a brother.”

“You want to fight me because Cas likes me?”

“Cas?”

“A nickname. Castiel seemed a bit formal for a man that talks to squirrels.”

“I’m surprised he tolerated it. He despises the names Gabriel uses.”

“He never seemed to have a problem with me using it.”

“A lucky man,” Michael said. “Or a special one. Shall we find out which? Do you accept my challenge?”

“I do.”

Dean blinked and turned. Sam was standing on the step behind him. He’d grabbed Dean’s sword and was doing his best to look menacing while holding it. He wasn’t holding the sword properly, but at least he was able to lift it. Dean doubted Michael was concerned.

“I did not challenge you boy,” Michael said. “I challenged him.”

“No. You challenged a Winchester. I am a Winchester and I accept your challenge.”

“I am not here to fight a child. I am here to test the mettle of a man who dares come close to my brother.”

“Should have worded your challenge better.”

“This is absurd.” Michael looked at Dean. “Do you intend to allow this nonsense to continue?”

“I honestly have no idea what is happening right now,” Dean admitted.

“He issued a poorly worded challenge,” Sam explained. “And now he’s trying to force me to back off because he’s afraid of the repercussions.”

“I’m not afraid of you.”

“Not of me.” Sam shifted his grip on the sword. Dean was impressed that he managed to keep the blade lifted. Swords were awkward and heavy for someone who  
wasn’t used to holding one. “Of Cas.”

“I’m not afraid of my brother either,” Michael told him.

“I would be,” Dean said. 

“Same,” Sam agreed. “I can’t imagine that Cas will be very happy about you coming here and threatening Dean. Especially if you beat up his little brother in the process.”

Michael stared at Sam for a long moment. He would flick his eyes over to look at Dean briefly and than back at Sam. Then he surprised Dean. He laughed. 

“If you are cut from the same cloth as your brother knight than you are worthy of my brother’s praise. You are made of sterner stuff than you appear boy. I rescind my challenge.”

Dean let out a quite breath that he hadn’t realized he had been holding. “So, now what?”

“Now I report back to mother.” Michael bowed his head at them. “You might want to take some time to rest before she arrives. She likes her tea warm and with honey.”

The sky darkened again. Dean took a step up to Sam and pulled his brother’s face into his chest while he pinches his own eyes shut. He heard the crack of thunder and felt the heat of the lightening. When he let Sam struggle out of his grasp he could smell the scorched dirt.

“What the hell were you thinking?”

“I think I need to sit down.”

“Seriously Sammy, he could have killed you. A man with a spear isn’t a joke. And my sword isn’t a toy or a prop.”

“Seriously Dean, I need to sit down.” Sam’s knees gave out and he slumped to the ground. “I can’t believe that worked.”

“I’m ratting you out to Bobby,” Dean said. “I can’t believe you bluffed a battlemage with a technicality.”

“And won.”

*******

Castiel raked his hand through his hair. He and his mother had been discussing his journey with Dean for hours. Well, she was asking questions and he was answering. Then she’d ask the questions over again and he’d provide the same answers again. It was frustrating. His answers hadn’t changed, but her questions would. She seemed to be trying to drive home a point and he just wanted for this to end. The enchantments on the room prevented him from just walking out, otherwise he’d have done it over an hour before. He might have recently become a grand wizard, but his mother had far more experience than he did. Castiel wasn’t leaving here until his mother was satisfied.

Naomi looked at her son and sighed. She set her teacup down with a precision that, to anyone who knew her, showed how frustrated she was. “It wasn’t this difficult with Lucifer and he actually summons demons.” 

“I’d rather not talk about my brother,” Castiel said stiffly.

“For the sake of everyone involved you need to talk to your brother,” Naomi told him. “Talk with Lucifer.”

“I have spoken with him,” Castiel said. “I told you he was there at the Fields of the Damned.”

“Talk to him about your father Castiel.”

“He abandoned our father to die while he went and danced with demons. I will not forgive him for that.”

“You are even more stubborn to reason than I was at your age.” Naomi exhaled violently. “Just talk with him. Let him explain why he did what he did.”

“There’s nothing to explain away,” Castiel snapped. “He wasn’t there and father died without a chance to see his son.”

“There is more to it than that.”

There was a clap of thunder and a moment later Michael came into the den. The doors swung shut the moment he was through.

“Oh thank heavens,” Naomi muttered. “Well?”

“I can’t speak to his skill in combat, but he has the intelligence to not immediately race into battle with an unknown foe.” Michael pulled a large chair over and flopped down into it. “He was obviously stalling, but it showed intelligence. Most of the idiots I fight charge head long into whatever trap I’ve set. I think this one would see the trap. A fast learner too. He turned away from my exit.”

“Your exits are always flashy.” 

“True mother, but effective. My point is that he not only turned away he made sure to shield his brother first. Smart, but caring. Also his brother is very brave.  
Foolish perhaps, but brave.”

“You thought Sam was brave?” Castiel asked. He wasn’t sure what Michael and his mother were up to, but hoped he could figure it out.

“Is that his name? It hadn’t come up. He was too busy shaking a sword at me that he could barely hold on to. Smart kid, but half my men would have cut him down for that stunt.”

“Even Michael thinks Sam has potential,” Castiel said. “Let him into the library.”

“Enough.” Naomi stood and snatched up her staff. “See if you can make him see reason.” 

Castiel knew he could teleport himself. He’d only opened gates because they were more convenient for large groups. He’d seen Michael use lightning to teleport. Gabe always used smoke when he vanished, something that irritated his mother to no end. It always left a smell behind and a residue on the carpet. That might be the reason why Gabe used that method so much. Naomi Novak had the cleanest method he’d ever seen.

Naomi leaned heavily on her staff and took two steps toward the door. By the third she had become transparent. By the fifth she was gone. 

“Where is she going?”

“To talk to your knight of course.”

“Do you think she’ll relent and let Sam study here?”

“You know she can’t let anyone who isn’t family study here.”

“She could bend the rules.”

Michael stared at him in silence. The stare continued long enough that Castiel wanted to turn away. Eventually he did.

“You really aren’t seeing the solution here are you?”

“I’m trying to get mother to change the rules so a non-family member can use the tutors and the library. It’s the obvious solution.”

“You’re an idiot.”

Castiel blinked at his brother.

Michael pinched his nose. “Who, without changing the rules, can study in our library?”

“Members of the Novak family.”

“Why can I study in the library?”

“For the same reason I can, because you’re a Novak.”

“Why can mother study there?”

Castiel rolled his eyes. “Because she’s a Novak too.”

“She wasn’t born one.”

“She married father and she counts now.” Castiel’s voice trailed off.

“That took you entirely too long.”

*****

Dean had wondered back into his study and collapsed into a chair. He was reasonably confident that Michael wouldn’t be making another appearance so soon. The dictionary he’d been reading was still on the table next to a half eaten apple. He still wasn’t sure what the word Sam had used meant. He also wasn’t in the mood to keep looking it up. 

He’d helped his brother upstairs to his bedroom and sent some food up to him. Dean had put his sword away and then gone back to check up on Sam. He was glad to see that his brother had eaten everything and was laying down for a nap. Sam had been incredibly brave earlier. Stupid, but brave. 

There was a brief knock at the door and Bobby walked in. The man had never waited more than a brief second after knocking. It had created some embarrassing situations when Dean was growing up. Embarrassing for Dean, Bobby never seemed bothered by it. 

“You’re getting a lot of visitors lately,” the man said.

“Who’s here now?’

“I’ve met royalty before and the woman in the front hall is more regal than the lot of them. Best be quick with her. Says she’s Castiel’s mother.”

Dean leapt up. “What is she doing here?”

“Why don’t you go ask her?” Dean heard ‘idiot’ as Bobby turned away. 

He hurried to meet his guest.

The woman standing in the front hall was as imposing as Bobby had suggested. She wasn’t a large physical presence, but she filled the hall. She was dressed in a simple, but elegantly cut, grey gown. She was leaning on a dark stone coloured staff.

“Sir Winchester?” She asked when he walked in.

He bowed. “Yes. Lady Novak?”

“Call me Naomi, I believe this will go faster if we dispense with formalities.”

Dean laughed. “I can agree with that. Please call me Dean. Was there something I could help you with?”

“Perhaps we could sit down for this? My age is catching up with me.”

“Of course,” he extended his elbow for her to hold onto. “My study is this way.”

If she noticed the cluttered nature of the room, Naomi didn’t say anything. She settled into the chair that Dean provided for her and waited for him to sit down as well.

“What can I help you with?”

“I wanted to discuss an alliance with your house.”

Dean paused. “Why?”

“I don’t really have the patience do this again,” Naomi sighed. “I’ve spent all morning talking in circles with my son. I’m going to be frank with you.”

“That might be best,” Dean said. “It’s been a confusing day. Your other son was here earlier.”

“Michael came because I asked him too. I need to speak with Castiel and didn’t want him running off before I was done.”

“Where is Cas now?”

Naomi tilted her head at the nickname, but didn’t say anything. “He is at home right now. Where he’ll stay until we’ve finished our negotiations.”

“What negotiations?”

“Marriage negotiations. I am proposing that you marry Castiel. It would align our houses and I think both would benefit from it.”

Dean shook his head. “What?”

“You both can’t be this silly,” Naomi said. “Marriage. You marry Castiel. He marries you. It’s not that hard to understand.”

“Your family is far better than mine,” Dean said. “I can’t bring much to the table.”

Naomi waved her hand in irritation. “If my father inlaw hadn’t found me I’d have married to a turnip farmer at best. At worst I’d have been stoned to death. Your wealth, or lack thereof, doesn’t concern me. Nor does your lack of magical talent. How you will treat my son does. Gabriel speaks well of you, though that might not count for much. Michael believes you to be a good man. And Castiel speaks very highly of you. Even Lucifer had good things to say about you. Raphael believes that you wouldn’t know what was good for you if it up and bit you. But then neither would Castiel. I trust the judgement of my sons Dean. They trust you and I believe that you will take care of him.”

“Oh, um,” Dean stammered.

“Do you not want to marry my son?”

“No,” Dean started. “I mean I do, but this is sudden and…”

Naomi cut him off. “But nothing. You’re both over 20 and due to get married. Besides, you’ll need help once the baby comes.”

“Baby?” 

“The changeling child?” Naomi reminded him. “I think Castiel said his name was going to be Jack. A baby is hard enough to raise, but one with magical talents is an  
entirely different story. Trust me, I raised five.”

“I guess you would know,” Dean said. He felt like he was trying to run on loose dirt and the ground kept shifting under him.

“We’re getting off topic,” she said. “Put bluntly. Do you want to marry my son?”

“I do.”

“Good. Now that’s settled we can hammer out details.”

“Shouldn’t we ask Cas?”

“Not his choice,” Naomi said. “I’m the head of the family and that decision is mine. Though I’ll I know my son, this is something he wants.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely. He might not have figured it out yet, but he does.”

*********

“So mother tells me that we’re getting married,” Castiel said. 

“You don’t want to marry me?” Dean asked. 

Castiel kissed the pout off his face. “No, I do. I just didn’t really think I’d get to.”

“I have a contract that says you get to,” Dean said. “If you’re nice I might let you read it. Your mother is a stickler for details.”

Castiel laughed. “She is. Doesn’t leave much to chance.”

They sat in silence for a moment just listening to the early evening around them. Crickets chirped softly. 

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All done now. It was a fun ride for me to write this out. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Thanks for reading.

Dean ran his thumb over the ring on his finger. It was a new sensation to wear a ring. New, but good. He liked having it there. It meant Cas was his. The ceremony had been brief. Or long. He couldn’t really remember exactly. He remembered Cas and how great he looked. Dean wasn’t sure if it was a spell or love, but he couldn’t recall any of the details of the ceremony at all. Except when he was told that he and Cas were married. That part was crystal clear. 

The hall was full of celebrants. Dean thought they’d been at the ceremony, but the details were sketchy on that front. He glanced around the room until he found Cas. His husband was talking with a pompous looking man and an equally pompous looking woman. They looked like they might be merchants or ambassadors. He wasn’t sure. He’d never seen them before. Whoever they were they thought highly of themselves. Cas looked bored, but was being polite. He thought about rescuing him. It was the right thing to do. Besides, he was a knight and knights came to the rescue.

“Welcome to the family brother.”

Dean jumped slightly and spun to see Michael and Raphael standing beside him. He knew they were at the ceremony, but hadn’t seen them since. He probably should have sought them out first. He should also see his mother inlaw.

“Thanks,” Dean said. “Glad to be part of it.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Raphael said. “We had something we wanted to talk to you about. But Gabriel was suppose to be here as well.”

Michael pointed into the crowd. “He’s over there collecting a drink.”

Dean looked over and saw Gabriel holding a drink and handing one to Sam. Sammy was already holding one. Gabriel grabbed another one and looked around the room. He caught Michael’s wave and directed Sam over.

“Why is my brother holding two glasses of wine?”

Gabriel smirked and downed one of the glasses he was holding. He swapped the empty glass with one of the ones Sam was holding. “I needed some help carrying everything. Sam is being very helpful. Such a good brother inlaw. Or brother of my brother inlaw. Anyway, he’s being helpful.”

“Don’t corrupt my brother.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Gabe said. “Have we done it yet?”

Raphael sighed. “We were waiting for you.”

“Well, I’m here now. So Michael, have at it.”

Dean looked at Michael questioningly. 

Michael smiled and shook his head. “What we are trying to say is that we welcoming you to the family Dean. And with that comes a very friendly piece of advice.” He clapped Dean on the back and leaned in. “If you hurt Castiel in any way we will find you. And you will not find it a pleasant time.”

Dean took a step back and looked at the three brothers. Michael was smiling, but looked very serious. Gabriel was smiling and didn’t look serious. Raphael just looked distracted.

“I think I already got this speech from Lucifer,” Dean told them. “He threatened to remove my arms.”

“Probably best if he found you first,” Raphael said. “I’d remove your lungs without letting you die.”

Dean blanched.

“Isn’t this supposed to be a happy, non threatening time?” Sam asked.

“The boy’s right,” Gabriel said. “Time to raid the kitchen.” He swapped another empty glass with the one Sam was holding and pointed toward the far end of the   
hall. “It’s that way.”

“What did I say about corrupting my brother?” Dean demanded.

Gabriel laughed. “It was his idea.”

******

Castiel was conflicted. He was ecstatic that he was married. Well, not just married, married to Dean and that was just amazing. He hoped no one asked him about details of the ceremony. He remembered Dean was there and everything else was a blur. He was also about ready to shove a fork into his eye. The man in front of him had been prattling on about some trade deal for at least ten minutes now. Castiel had neither the interest not the authority to do anything with it. He was being polite because he was pretty sure this man was related to Dean somehow and didn’t want to start off his marriage by irritating a relative of his husband. The only thing worse than the man was his wife. She had the most irritating laugh and kept touching him. Petting him really. If he had to deal with them any longer he was concerned. One or both of them might end up as toads. 

The man briefly paused to take a breath. His wife began her irritating laugh and stopped part way through. The man coughed and his eyes bulged a little. His wife grabbed his arm and began taking a step backward. Castiel was about to ask what was wrong when he heard his brother.

“A beautiful ceremony.”

Castiel turned to see Lucifer stepping up beside him. The man and his wife made quick apologies and walked away at a pace that suggested walking, but really was almost impolite running.

“Thank you for that,” Castiel said.

“Were they as boring as they appeared?”

“More so I think.”

“Glad to have helped.” Lucifer plucked a wine glass from a passing tray. “Lilith and I are working on our wedding gift for you and Dean. It will take some time to fully prepare, but I think you’ll appreciate it.”

“You don’t need to get us anything.” Castiel said. He wanted this to be easier than it was. He wanted to just let the conversation flow. But conversation with Lucifer had been awkward for so long. He wasn’t sure how to talk to his brother any more. And he certainly wasn’t going to bring up the reasons why at his own wedding.

“It’s a custom,” Lucifer said. “Besides, I want to do this for you. I know we are having the conversation because you agreed to it as payment. But I wanted you to know that the gift, when it is finished, has no strings attached. You won’t have to talk to me again if you don’t want to.”

“Are you looking for forgiveness?” Castiel asked. He regrated asking almost immediately. He didn’t want to have this conversation now. This was supposed to be a happy time. “I’m not able to do that.”

“No,” Lucifer said. “I made my choices. Right or wrong, I made them. I get to live with them. I only wanted to wish you well. I wish only the best for you. I’m sure Dean will treat you well.”

“Are you going to threaten him if he doesn’t?” Castiel asked. He did his best to make it sound like a joke.

Lucifer chuckled. “I already had that chat with him. Though I think our brothers are doing their own version right now.” He drank some of his wine before continuing. “But no, I don’t think I really need to. Probably didn’t when I first spoke to him. I don’t believe he’ll hurt you Castiel. Not because of any threats from your family. At trust me, we could be very creative if we wanted to. No. I think that Dean won’t hurt you because you are you. He’d sooner cut his own arm off I think. Which is for the best. I think one of us would remove it for him if he didn’t.”

Castiel scanned the crowd for his husband. He saw him standing next to Michael and Raphael. Dean must have said something funny because his two brothers were laughing. He didn’t see Gabe anywhere.

“Thank you?” Castiel said. “I’m not sure how to take that.”

“Face value,” Lucifer told him. “Your husband loves you. And I don’t think it will be threats of harm that will keep him in line. I think he’ll do that all by himself.” 

“I think I should go rescue him from whatever Michael and Raphael are threatening.” Castiel said. He was itching to see Dean again. Touch him. But he also wanted away from his brother.

Lucifer smiled sadly. “Of course. Thank you for this brother. Even if it never happens again. Thank you.”

Castiel didn’t respond and instead walked toward his husband. He pulled him into a hug and kissed the back of his neck. 

“And that is our cue to leave,” Michael said. “I do not need to see more of that.”

“Were they playing nice,” Castiel asked once his brothers had left.

“Vaguely threatening,” Dean admitted. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

“Want to get out of here?”

“As long as you’re going with me.”

********

Lilith looked out at the field before her. Tall grass extended as far as the eye could see. The sounds of battle rang all around her. She shuddered. This was not how she wanted to spend her time, but her husband had insisted. She looked around and saw the man digging through a sack.

“In all of our years of marriage I have asked little of you,” Lilith said. “But I’m going to now. Why are we here?”

“We are here to cleanse the Field of the Damned. To lay these souls to rest.”

“That is the ‘what’. ‘Why’ are we here?”

Lucifer closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them he wasn’t really looking at her, he was looking inward or to the future or the past. But he wasn’t seeing her.

“My father was very sick. Raphael did everything he could, but my father’s body was falling apart around him. I loved my father dearly and it was torture to see him wasting like that. While Raphael tried to holding him together I went looking for another solution. I summoned every demon I could call up and demanded a cure for my father. None had it. So I bargained and pleaded and begged. I bought the names of other demons and summoned them. Still no cure. In the end there wasn’t one to be found. My father died. I wasn’t there with him like I should have been. My family has forgiven me for my absence, but Castiel never has. In one fell swoop I lost both my father and brother. It tried to help, but failed.” He gestured out at the field. “This can be my redemption.”

“You haven’t done anything wrong,” Lilith said. She stepped beside him and hugged his arm. “Castiel is wrong about you abandoning your father.”

“He isn’t wrong, but he’s missing some for the details. Maybe someday I’ll be able to tell him. For now I can do this.”

“This will make him listen to you?”

“I doubt it. But it will make Dean happy and that will make Castiel happy. That will be enough. Even if he never speaks to me again it’ll be enough.”

********

He barely heard the knock at the door. It was only luck that he’d been close enough to hear it anyway. A storm was raging outside. The pelting rain drown out almost everything. The wind and claps of thunder took care of whatever noise the rain didn’t cover. But in a brief moment of silence the knock came. He braced himself for the storm as he opened the door. 

There was no one there. 

Rain instantly soaked him. A flash of lightening lit up the yard. No one was there.

He was about to turn away and shoulder the door closed when he heard it. 

A cry.

He furrowed his brow and looked around again. He wasn’t sure how he missed it when he first opened the door. A wicker basket sat on the step. A baby was tucked inside.

He snatched the baby up and retreated inside. Once the door was closed he took a closer look. The baby seemed healthy and was somehow asleep, despite having been out in the rain. 

A note was pined to the blanket. 

“Take care of my baby. Jack deserves the best and you had better provide it. I’m sure the combined resources of a knight and wizard can raise him well. I’ll be displeased if he isn’t the most darling boy when I come to visit.”


End file.
